


Building a Better Chimera V: The Unholy Alliance

by Uthizaar



Series: The Awakening [5]
Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Action, Alpha Chimera, Alpha Liam Dunbar, Alpha Stiles Stilinski, Alpha Theo Raeken, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Anal Sex, Assassins & Hitmen, Barebacking, Betrayal, Blood, Blood As Lube, Blood Kink, Blood and Violence, Bottom Stiles Stilinski, Bottom Theo Raeken, Brainwashing, Chimera Brett Talbot, Chimera Jackson Whittemore, Chimera Liam Dunbar, Chimera Mason Hewitt, Chimera Mythology, Chimera Nolan, Chimera Scott McCall, Chimera Stiles Stilinski, Chimeras, Corey gets a puppy dog, Cults, Dark Stiles, Dirty Talk, Disturbing Themes, Double Anal Penetration, False Memories, Fictional Religion & Theology, Gore, Green Serum, Grief/Mourning, Groping, Implied Relationships, Implied Sexual Content, Jealous Theo, Jealousy, Lots of Cum, Loyalty, M/M, Masochism, Masturbation, Megalomania, Minor Character Death, Multi, Multiple Orgasms, Murder, Murderous Theo, Mythical Beings & Creatures, Nemeton, Nipple Play, OT3, Oral Sex, Original Monster - Freeform, Original Mythology, POV Multiple, Paranoia, Power Dynamics, Rage, Rimming, Rough Sex, Science Fiction & Fantasy, Secrets, Sexual Fantasy, Shower Sex, Sloppy Seconds, Threesome - M/M/M, Top Original Male Character, Top Stiles Stilinski, Top Theo Raeken, Torture, Twincest, Unresolved Sexual Tension, Villain Stiles Stilinski, chimera pack, cum, egotism, goop, power stealing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-04
Updated: 2018-06-10
Packaged: 2019-03-13 13:29:41
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 15
Words: 190,198
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13571541
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Uthizaar/pseuds/Uthizaar
Summary: Darkness surrounds the Alpha Chimera, Stiles Stilinski; reeling from the disappearance of his trusted friend and confidant, his vision for a glorious new world has stalled. Even with the return of one he thought lost forever, Stiles falters, unsure, unable to move on, blind to the dangers he has unleashed.The Nemeton is shattered, dark secrets spill from its broken core, the return of a terrible and hungry entity, eager to feast on chimeras and werewolves alike. Evil and corrupt, the Harvester represents the most powerful enemy Stiles and his allies have ever encountered. But with Stiles’ and Theo’s relationship strong once more, can they defeat this grave threat, and finally realize the glory of his Chimera Empire…As this is the final part of a series, you may wish to read the rest before reading this one.





	1. Old Wounds

Thunder rumbled ominously overhead, lightning arcing through the black clouds that obscured the top of the Imperial Palace as Liam shouted for his chimera werewolves to continue to push themselves harder. “C’mon! A little bit of rain can’t stop you! Mason, get a move on!” He glared at his former best friend, lifting weights that looked suspiciously light. “Scott, are you gonna stand there all day, or are you gonna move your ass?!”

“Fine.” The once True Alpha stopped slouching against the wall and walked into the middle of the sodden clay square, the rain hammering down around him. “Where do you want me, _Alpha?_ ”

“I told you not to call me that.” Liam frowned, hesitating. Scott’s eyes were purple, as were his own, and he eventually pointed at Mason. “Join him, start sparring. The Emperor wants you to be able to inspire the remaining werewolf packs, you’re not going to do that without bulking up a bit.”

“Ok.” Scott walked away from him, offering Mason a smile as he approached. “Hey.”

“Scott.” Mason grunted, looking back at the Imperial Palace behind them, somehow more imposing than ever before. “Another day in paradise, huh?”

“Something like that. I always thought LA was meant to be sunny though.” Scott shrugged, “Although, I hear it’s called Victory City now, huh?”

“Yup, just another thing Stiles-”

“Hey!” Liam barked out, striding over to them. He pointed at the Palace guards standing by the entrance of the training grounds. “I can hear you, which means they can hear you, and reluctant chimera or not, Mason, you need to respect the Emperor.”

“I-”

“What is his name?” The Alpha glared at Mason, fangs pushing out his lips. “Well?”

“All glory to the Chimera Emperor.” Mason muttered, casting his eyes down. “May he live forever.”

“Right.” Liam nodded, glancing at Scott, seeing the expression on the chimera’s face. “Do you have anything to add?”

“No.”

“Good. Continue sparring.”

“Right.” Scott murmured, holding up his hands and nodding for Mason to charge him. Liam was still watching as they attacked and defended, blocking and jabbing at each other, until Scott saw his opening and grabbed Mason’s wrist, twisting his arm and flipping the other chimera onto the hard ground. He hesitated over Mason, new claws touching his throat. “Surrender?”

“Yeah.” Mason grunted, rolling his head back on the wet ground. He watched as Liam walked away, screaming at the other members of his pack. “Thanks.” 

“You’re welcome.” Scott pulled Mason to his feet, clapping his shoulder through the wet t-shirt. The rain showed no sign of stopping and lightning cracked down onto the palace, electrifying the surface until it was sucked into one of the superstructure’s lightning rods. “So,” Scott lowered his voice enough that only Mason could hear him. “You doing ok?”

“Yeah, I’m fine. I just don’t get why he’s like this when we’re training or basically doing anything away from his and Philip’s quarters.”

“He’s being careful, I guess.” Scott nodded towards the pack barracks when Liam finally shouted that training was over. “Sure, we’re all chimeras now, but Liam and I were werewolves first, he probably thinks that the others look down on us or something.”

“That’s not true,” Mason sighed with relief as they entered the covered walkway and headed towards the room he shared with Scott. “Everyone just treats us with indifference. I thought I’d be isolated or punished because I was a rebel, although, on second thoughts these training sessions have been pretty brutal.”

“Kinda like training with Coach Finstock actually.” Scott sniggered, “I think that’s where he’s getting his inspiration. But you’re right, I suppose for most chimeras there’s some sort of inbuilt loyalty, huh?”

“I almost wish that was the case.” Mason muttered. “Every time I pass close to the labs or see Theo-the First Chimera-I get a shiver up my spine. The things he did, not just to me, but to hundreds-”

“Mason,” Scott cut across him, opening the door to the room. “Stop doing this to yourself. You can’t fight the will of the Alpha Chimera; he’s just too strong.”

“So, what are we meant to do? Nothing? Just accept defeat?” Mason sat down on his bed, as Scott did the same opposite him. They could still hear the rain hammering on the roof dozens of feet above them. “I can’t do that, Scott. He can’t control us all day, every day; it’s not mind control, maybe I can build up stockpiles or find a way to contact the rebels again!”

Scott was silent for a few minutes, pulling his soaking clothes off and wrapping a towel around his waist. Finally, he looked at Mason from the door of the bathroom. “I’ve been back for over a month, and it’s taken me this long just to get used to fact that my best friend from childhood rules the world, controls a vast army of chimeras, and is revered throughout the Empire as a...god. But there’s one thing I learned immediately, Mason, traitors will be killed, and it doesn’t matter if they’re chimeras or humans or werewolves. So, you can choose to plot and scheme, and dig your own grave while you’re at it, or you can start doing what I’m doing.”

“Which is?”

“Find something better.” Scott’s eyes took on a faraway look. “I should be neck-deep in recruiting the werewolf packs to be turned into chimeras, but the Emperor hasn’t finished his mourning yet, so I’m stuck here. Have you explored the city? I have, there are good people here, too, Mason. They want to make a difference, build a better future, realize the 'Emperor’s dream of glory', whatever that ultimately is. Think about it, think about the ways you can help whoever has been left alive instead of all those who have died.”

“Mmh.” Mason grunted non-committedly as Scott disappeared inside the bathroom, the hiss of the water from the shower audible above the rain. “Maybe…”

 

“Yes! Excellent!” Theo proclaimed proudly as Jackson sat up from the surgical table. “Show me your power, chimera!”

Jackson smirked at him and flexed his fingers experimentally, the short claws of a werewolf replaced by longer, heavier were-bear claws, his already muscular form increased in strength and size. As Jackson pushed his naked body off the surgical table and onto the tiled floor of the lab, he rolled his head from side to side, joints popping. “I like it, I feel a lot stronger.”

“And more durable, I bet.” Theo grinned at him, flicking his eyes along Jackson’s chest and defined abs hungrily. The assistants had melted away and the First Chimera was alone with him save for the two Guardians standing beside the doorway. “Another success.” He nodded, gesturing for Jackson to leave, his gaze lingering on the smooth, fleshy globes of the new chimera’s ass. _I bet he’d be a tight fuck! Mmh! Gotta find Corey after this!_

Theo licked his lips, ignoring the Guardians and pulled his gloves off, running bare hands through the spilled blood on the metal slab, coating his forearms. He stared at the crimson liquid as it spread along his skin, staining his hands red. The First Chimera’s eyes pulsed in an echoing red, his trousers straining outwards. Theo glanced over his shoulder, seeing that the Guardians had remained staring ahead, as stoic as their leader had ever been. “Where is Corey?”

“He is with Garrett,” One of them replied. “Along the seashore, First Chimera.”

“Really? Again.” Theo growled irritably and spun around, the fresh blood forgotten. “Well, where is Stiles?!”

“The Emperor is in seclusion.” The other Guardian responded stiffly. “He has requested not to be disturbed.”

“Hmm. What’s he doing?” Theo glared at them when they refused to answer. “I asked you a question, don’t you know who your masters are?”

“We serve only the Emperor.”

“Gah.” He turned away after their mirrored replies, pushing through the doorway and into the corridor beyond. Theo glanced at the chimera nearby, a line of young people sitting patiently in front of her. “Who’s next?”

“The last of Liam’s pack, First Chimera.”

“Fine, send them in.” Theo grunted, looking upwards through a shaft that led to the surface, dark clouds rushing across the sky and pouring rain hammering on the panel. He sighed, returning to the lab as the next werewolf entered, his earlier jubilation vanishing. _Seclusion, huh? Pretty sure that’s just code for another attempt to find him. Not that it matters, he’s dead and Stiles is mine once more. I’ll give him another month, should be enough time to show him the immortality vaccine we’ve created actually works, and with the chimera conversion process becoming more and more efficient, soon we’ll have Scott out there recruiting for us!_ Theo grinned, his mood lifting again, beckoning the handsome young man onto the table. He watched with eager eyes and a drooling cock as they stripped him naked in preparation for the surgery. “Now, what chimera shall I make you into? The possibilities are endless!”

 

“Rawr!” Stiles grunted in frustration, hurling the goggles away from him to skip along the smooth stone floor. Blood ran from the wounds beneath his eyes, but the Chimera Emperor didn’t care, brushing aside the gauze a Guardian offered him. “Useless! All chimeras have a frequency, all chimeras can be found using the Dread Doctors' device, all except for him, apparently!” Stiles stalked towards the balcony, looking out at the furious storm that extended over Victory City, his eyes burning with purple fire as electricity wrapped itself in thick bands around his body. 

The Guardians remained a safe distance behind him, and Stiles ground his teeth, irritation making the air hum with his anger. “Grr!” The bleeding had stopped, but the muddled, confused images echoed in his mind; traces of the Guardian Prime’s presence in the Palace, and even on the road out of the capital, and then nothing, utter darkness. Stiles had tried searching for other chimeras, Corey and Theo, finding them with ease, even going further away, seeing Marric shifting through the sands of the ancient city of the Overmind, Ka’narack, but Connor was nowhere to be found. 

“He could not have simply disappeared!” The Emperor muttered to himself, leaning against the balustrade. “I cannot feel him, I cannot find him, it’s almost as if…” _As if he is dead, words I cannot say out loud, not yet, even if Theo wants me too. I can smell his happiness, cloying and bright, as though this is something to be celebrated._ He glanced behind him, “Tell me again, where was the First Chimera when Connor vanished?”

“He was in the palace, master.”

“You are certain? He didn’t slip out, or go missing for a few hours?”

“Yes, master, we are certain.”

“Humph.” Stiles grunted. “And the same for Corey, both here, both with alibies. And even if they weren’t, neither of them is strong enough to take you down, my _perfect_ chimera.” He whispered the final words, looking to one side, almost seeing Connor standing next to him, resolute, but with the touch of a smile on his lips. Stiles sighed, feeling his eyes burn, tears mixing with the drying blood. The stone under his fingers was smooth and cold to the touch, the Emperor looking outwards as a flock of winged chimeras soared over the palace. “No updates from Chimera Intelligence on this matter?”

“No, Emperor. No one has seen the Guardian Prime since his group left for the Johnson Space Center three weeks ago.” The Guardian stepped forward, feeling her master’s pull. “We found the remains of their Osprey just over five hundred miles from here.”

“A third of the way.” Stiles muttered. “I remember; wrecked, ruined, torn apart by some unknown force. But no bodies, no blood, no signs or tracks or anything!” He growled, furious again, the electricity arcing outwards from his body as a sympathetic strike lashed down from the sky, cracking against the walls of the ziggurat. “I have felt the death of chimeras before, but it didn’t feel like that, instead there was almost a numbness spreading out from him, where he should be. Where are you, Connor…”

“Emperor?”

“What?” Stiles snapped, a tendril of electricity snapping in the air around him, his irritation manifested.

“Apologies for interrupting You, but the leader of the chimera werewolf pack wishes to speak with You. He has the Legendary chimera, Philip, with him as well.”

“Fine, have them come to the Council Chamber.” Stiles replied after several minutes of silently staring into the distance, willing his favoured chimera to return. “I’ll meet them there.”

“As You command, Emperor.”

 

Corey let his gaze drift off into the mid-distance as the waves lapped against the sandy beach in front of him. Garrett was sitting silently beside him, only the group of palace guards standing around the Humvee further up the beach reminded him that the Löwenmensch wasn’t completely free. He tilted his head back to look up at the clear, blue skies, sun beaming down on him and Garrett. A quick flick of his eyes to the right however, revealed the edge of the thunderstorm that had lingered over Victory City for the past week and a half. “Hmm.” Corey sighed, looking down at the white-tipped waves again.

“What is it?”

“Nothing really,” He shrugged, glancing at Garrett. “I guess I’m just feeling a little guilty that I insisted we drive an hour from the capital.”

“You wanted to go to the beach, to see the sun, don’t feel bad.” Garrett replied, looking over Corey’s head to check on the guards before he placed a hand on the younger chimera’s, but Corey pulled away quickly.

“Don’t.” Corey frowned at him. “That’s not why we’re here, this isn’t me saying I want to get back with you; I’m with Stiles and Theo.”

“Really?” Garrett smirked. “I don’t hear much anymore, being under house-arrest and all, but I have heard that the Emperor is in a foul mood, that someone high up has gone missing and no one can find them.”

“That’s right.”

“Fine, don’t tell me, I’ll use the brain teaser to while away the hours until you come to visit me again.” Garrett grinned genuinely at him and Corey felt his stomach swoop the way it used to in Mr Douglas’ classroom. “Thanks for getting me out of that cell, Corey.”

“Sure.” He mumbled, heat spreading across his cheeks as Garrett held his gaze for a moment longer than necessary. “Stiles was never going to have you executed, you know? Theo wanted it, I didn’t, but it was Connor who convinced him not to. The Guardian Prime believes,” Corey paused, taking a breath, “ _believed_ that all chimeras are united by a common bond of being Awakened by the Emperor.”

“I see.” Garrett whispered. “I’d be angry you spoiled the mystery, but I remember you telling me that Connor was a friend. He’s dead?”

“That’s what Theo thinks, I don’t know about Stiles though. It’s been weeks and he’s done nothing but sit there on the throne or stand on the balcony outside his bedroom.” Corey sighed, tilting his head back again when the sun vanished from view, the dark storm clouds drifting out to obscure it. He shivered, not objecting when Garrett took off his jacket and hung it around his shoulders. “Thanks.”

“That weather isn’t natural, almost like the storm the Ghost Riders used to ride the lightning.”

“Yeah, Stiles is creating it.” Corey saw Garrett arch a brow and explained. “He can mimic the elements from all his chimeras, right?”

“Right.”

“So, I’ve seen him make the clouds by forcing warm air to rise from the ocean, and then feeding it with lightning until the storm could sustain itself.” He added, seeing Garrett frown. “Look, I’m sure there’s more to it than that, you know how crap my science grades were, he’s the Emperor, he can do whatever he wants.”

“Except find Connor.” Garrett mused to himself. 

“Yeah.” Corey sighed, watching the Löwenmensch’s expression change into thoughtfulness. _Ah man, he’s plotting again! I know that face!_ “What are you thinking about?”

“Just wondering if there’s anything I know or overheard from my time with the Dread Doctors that might help find the illustrious Guardian Prime.”

“Really?”

“Don’t sound too surprised, Corey, I’m back on your team, remember?” He grinned, eyes twinkling as the sun managed to burst out from behind the clouds to shine brightly down on them. “I have sixty years of memories I need to dig through, but, hey, maybe something will come from it. I know it won’t make up for everything I’ve done, but I think we both know that the Chimera Emperor needs a moderating force.”

“He has Theo, and me.” Corey replied defensively, giving Garrett back his jacket.

“I know he has you, and he listens to you, which is important, but Theo doesn’t moderate anything!” Garrett shook his head. “Don’t forget that I served as a General in the Emperor’s forces for two years, Connor is like his mirror; destructive and violent when he needs to be, though never innately cruel, balanced and kind when he wasn’t forced to protect Stiles. And never have I seen someone with such devotion. The religion that spreads throughout the world didn’t just happen overnight; it started with him, and the other Guardians.”

“I guess that’s all true.” The younger chimera nodded. “But I still think you’re under-estimating Theo. Sure, he’s happy that Stiles no longer has the ‘perfect’ chimera nearby, but he’ll pull Stiles back if things get too crazy.”

“You mean, if the Emperor tries to resurrect Connor the same way he did Scott?” He smirked at Corey’s surprised expression. “Yeah, that bit of news travelled fast, not as fast as the propaganda to explain it though. ‘Conqueror of Death Itself’, that’s what they call him now, right?”

“Yup, although Scott’s just been sitting around for a month, so I don’t know.”

“He was dead for nearly three years,” Garrett stood up, seeing the guards approaching them. “I think he deserves some time to figure out the outside world. I was half-asleep for sixty and even when I emerged from the tank, the world hadn’t changed as much as it has since Stiles embraced his destiny as Chimera Emperor.”

“Destiny, huh?” Corey got to his feet, accepting Garrett’s offered hand, and begun to walk back to the Humvee. “That sounds a bit…mystical.”

“You told me all about the adventure in Ka’narack, remember? It certainly feels like the united Overmind is destined to rule the world and whoever wields their awesome power _deserves_ the title of Supreme Ruler of Earth!” Garrett grinned, though Corey could smell the undercurrent of jealousy as they got inside the vehicle.

 

Nick stood up as Brett finished his oration, glorifying the Emperor to the gathered masses of the Faithful. Josh watched the Dragon stride up the wide aisle, intent on taking over from where Brett had stopped. The gathered ranks of Ancient chimeras standing in a semi-circle around the golden statue of the Emperor parted to allow him through. Josh nudged his brother in the ribs. “I thought all the Ancient chimeras had animal heads?”

“I asked Nick about it, since the last of the army from that city in the desert arrived earlier this morning,” Jason whispered back. “He said the Emperor Awakened them just after he brought that werewolf back to life. But I’ve only ever seen those five animal-headed ones in the palace, maybe the others stay human until they’re needed? Or maybe they’re newer versions or something?”

“Maybe.” Josh shrugged, casting his eyes over the bare-chested young men, their skin a burnished bronze, eyes burning purple like all the other chimeras. “They used to follow the Guardian Prime around all the time.”

“They’re pretty hot though, right?!” His brother grinned at him, and Josh rolled his eyes.

“Don’t you think of anything else?”

“Like you do!” Jason winked, nodding up at Nick as the Dragon stood at the pulpit, Brett backing away and keeping to one side. “That was a pretty good intro.”

“You think so?”

“Yeah,” He shrugged. “But I don’t know, Brett isn’t like the Guardian Prime. He could ignite a fire in you like no one else! Although, I seem to recall that you held a torch of a different kind for him!”

“Shut up!” Josh hissed, cheeks burning. He didn’t respond though, as Nick began to speak.

“All glory to the Chimera Emperor!”

“Glory!”

The thunderous reply made Nick smile, as he turned back to face the packed cathedral, the giant gold statue of the Emperor towering behind him. “Glory indeed, faithful chimeras! More and more of you flock to the center of His magnificence each day! More and more are converted from the werewolves and the humans, until one day soon, there will be only chimeras amongst the mighty buildings and monuments of our Empire! But we will not stop at only one planet.” 

He smiled again, spreading his arms wide, fiery wings echoing the movement. “The Guardian Prime may have fallen, but his mission lives on, and the Emperor will see it completed in honour of our glorious Empire and the chimera who could embody its ideals better than any of us! The stars themselves will burn with purple fire, and we will live for all eternity as one people, one civilisation, one Empire, united under the Supreme Galactic Chimera Emperor!”

“Woah.” Josh whispered, his ears hurting from the tumultuous wave of noise that had erupted at Nick’s words. He glanced at Jason, seeing his brother’s mouth hanging open, “Did you know about this?”

“No, not at all.” He had to shout for Josh to hear him, the rapturous cheering and applause continuing even as Nick held up his hands for them to stop. “I know he met with the Emperor this morning, but I thought everything was on hold for a few more weeks.”

“It’s cool, though, right?” Josh grinned and looked back to see the Dragon shrug helplessly and smile at them. “I don’t think he’s gonna get to finish his speech though.”

 

Stiles swept into the Council Chamber, throwing himself into the smaller, though no less ornate, throne at the head of the table. He gestured for Liam and Philip to rise from their kneeling positions. The Emperor started chewing on a nail irritably, the reassuring presence of Connor directly behind him was missing, and none of his Guardians gave him the same level of comfort. “Well, what’s this about?”

“There are a few things to discuss, Emperor.” Philip began, glancing at Liam and back at the Alpha Chimera, ignoring the smears of blood under his eyes. “We have been bringing Scott up to speed; telling him everything that has happened since his death, explaining to him that the world as he knows it has been destroyed forever, and only the Chimera Empire can bring enlightenment and glory to the world.”

“And is he buying it?”

“I think so.” Liam nodded. “Once the shock had worn off from his return to life, he was very surprised, angry even, but not violent.”

“That surprised you?” The Emperor looked at him, frowning. “But you’re right, he is just another chimera to me now, and yet I have not had the need to restrain him or stop him from hurting someone else. Interesting.”

“He has been curious though; he knows about Kira, has seen all the propaganda vids, learned what happened to Malia, Mason, obviously since they share quarters, and he’s asked about Lydia.” Philip continued to speak. “Her information is still classified, but he knows she’s alive and well, sworn to serve You, Emperor.”

“Good. Has he spoken to anyone outside the chimera werewolf pack? Parrish? Strauss? My father, perhaps?”

“No, Emperor.” Liam shook his head. “I’ve followed your orders to the letter. He shares a room with Mason and trains with us daily. He responds well to me as the Alpha of the pack during the training, though it’s a lot more awkward when we’re alone, or he’s with Philip and me. A lot has happened, and Scott is smart enough to know that I must have had killed a lot people during the wars.”

“Our Empire needed a clean slate to realize my vision of glory.” Stiles replied grimly. “I will not apologize for that, or the foundation of blood and bones it is built on. Tell him to look at history and give me an example of a great empire that has risen without bloodshed: there is none. But this will be the last, the greatest empire of them all!”

“Glory!” Philip barked automatically, seeing the Emperor smile briefly at him. He swallowed and looked at Liam. “We were planning on bringing both Scott and Mason through the Atrium of Victory to further cement the glory of our Empire in their hearts. I believe Scott will accept it, he doesn’t want to fight You any longer, master, I have heard him say that he believes he can do good in the Empire, find a way to serve that does not contradict Your rules.”

“Hmm, good.” Stiles muttered, staring at the polished surface of the redwood table. _If only Connor were here, he would know the exact place for Scott to pitch in and help our people. Corey spends all his free time with Garrett, and Theo only sees the humans as a way to bathe in blood for his own pleasure._ “I will…sometime in the future Scott will fulfil his original purpose, when I have…”

Philip and Liam glanced at each other as the Emperor continued to pause. “Master?”

Stiles cleared his throat, “Ahem, send Scott to the Church of the Emperor in Ascendence, they should be able to find a use for him there; I believe Brett and Parrish are co-operating on the construction of housing blocks for all the new arrivals. Something the Guardian Prime mentioned in his final sermon.” The Emperor’s expression became faraway again. _You can’t have just disappeared, you have to be out there…_

“There is another thing, Emperor.” Liam wet his lips when Stiles stared directly at him, dark circles under his eyes, the slowly healing wounds sill wept blood, making him look more lethal than usual. “We need to talk about Mason.”

“Then talk.”

“He’s restless, unwilling to accept his new life as a chimera,” Liam explained, looking uncomfortable. “Mason keeps talking about rebellion, about contacting the group of rebels he had created and supported when they thought that the ritual would deliver Scott to them as the True Alpha again.”

“Then kill him and be done with it.” Stiles replied emotionlessly. “He played his part in my schemes, and since he insists on being a security threat, he has no role in the glory of our Empire.”

“With respect, great Emperor,” Philip bowed his head deferentially. “We had a different idea.”

“Mind-wipe him, just like you did with Lydia, just like how you erased the memory of Mason even being transformed into a chimera.” Liam argued. “Please, he can be a good chimera, he can become strong and serve in his own way, he just needs to believe, to forget everything that has happened to him in the wars and in the Rhino’s Horn, and…everything.”

“Hmm.” Stiles paused, brows furrowing as he felt a strange sensation ripple through his chest, as though the twin Overmind organs were firing. The moment passed, and he glanced to one side, for the second time that day seeing an echo of Connor standing next to him, a regal nod and the flash in his purple eyes that made Stiles’ pulse tick higher and a shiver race across his skin. 

The Emperor watched until the echo faded, and the two younger chimeras pulled his attention away. “Fine. I will speak to the First Chimera about it and have him remove the portions of Mason’s memory that are…traumatic. However, I must warn you that there is a risk involved in this procedure; we can manipulate Mason’s memory back to just after the Battle of Beacon Hills, and he agreed to join us. But because we don’t know everything that he did or where he went after rebelling, large chunks will need to be erased.”

“What about Lydia?”

“Lydia enjoyed accommodation at the Empire’s expense since her capture, I knew exactly what to remove and what to leave.” Stiles shrugged, “Mason may no longer be the smartest person in the room after this.”

“But will he be happy?”

“Perhaps.” Stiles answered after a pause. “He can serve the Empire in whatever capacity suits him the most, and if you wish, I’ll even send him away from here.”

“No!” Liam cried out, shaking his head. He moderated his tone as the Emperor quirked a brow his way. “I mean, please don’t. I want him to remain here, we can fix everything between us if he doesn’t remember all that has happened.”

“Very well.” The Chimera Emperor stood up, Philip and Liam following quickly. “It will be done in the next few days. The Guardian Prime will…would have approved of this.”

“Yes, Emperor, I’m sure he would have.” Philip muttered, but Stiles wasn’t paying attention any longer, walking out of the room, his Guardians following silently behind him.

 

“Um, can you pass the salt?” Corey looked between Theo and Stiles, sighing and then reaching across the table to grab it. “Thanks, Corey! You’re welcome, Corey!” He smirked, but Theo was too busy glaring at Stiles to notice, and the Alpha Chimera hadn’t even touched his food, staring instead into the distance. Neither he or Theo had mentioned the bloody smears under Stiles’ eyes, but Corey intended to ask Theo about it as soon as they were out of earshot of the Alpha Chimera. The table was outside, the rain abating for the duration of their meal, allowing them a clear view across the capital, cranes and scaffolding spread out over the city as new buildings and monuments rose up along the skyline. The younger chimera stared hard at Theo until he frowned.

“What?” Theo laughed suddenly. “You look like you’re trying to make me explode with your mind!”

“Well, maybe you’d notice me then.”

“I’m talking to you now.” He gestured with his fork. “Actually, I was looking for you earlier, Jackson’s surgery went really well; new claws, new muscles, he left quite a lot of blood on the table too.”

“Ugh,” Corey screwed up his nose. “You know that weirds me out!”

“Yeah, well, it turns me on.” Theo grinned, his eyes gleaming. “And Jackson has a really nice ass, I was hoping you’d be around to help me get over watching it walk out the door!”

“Uh, Theo!” Corey groaned, glancing at Stiles, but the Chimera Emperor was still looking off into the distance, not even reacting to the First Chimera’s words until he was touched. “Stiles?”

“Hmm? Oh, sorry, I was thinking.”

“Yeah, we figured that.” Theo muttered, returning to his meal.

“But just because I was thinking does not mean I wasn’t listening.” Stiles glanced at them both. “I trust you managed to contain yourself, Theo?”

“Of course, building up for tonight, if you’re in the mood?”

“I am!” Corey nodded eagerly, but Stiles shook his head.

“I don’t think so, not tonight.” He saw Theo’s expression grow sour and gestured at Corey. “But that shouldn’t stop you two.”

“Will you at least watch?”

“I’m not made of stone, Theo.” Stiles smiled at him, a rare expression these days, and Corey grinned back. “I’m just not sure I can give you a good enough time if I was to be involved.”

“It might take your mind off it?” Theo finished eating and placed his knife and fork across the plate. “I’ll freely admit I wasn’t the Guardian Prime’s biggest fan, but I know how much you cared for him, he was your, hmm, brother after all.”

“Genetically similar are the words you’re looking for.” Stiles stood up, his food forgotten. The Emperor walked to the end of the terrace, where there was no railing, only the sheer sides of the ziggurat falling away. “And I still don’t believe he’s truly gone.”

“Really?” Theo joined him, sparing a glance for the Guardians behind them, purple eyes locking on, their claws bared. _Feeling threatened, Stiles?_ “It’s been almost a month, he would have reached out to you if he could have; used all those little tricks to make contact, like before, when Garrett took him. We sent chimeras to scout the area around the wreckage, and there was nothing there; no tracks, no trace, nothing.”

“Chimeras do not just vanish, Theo!”

“Unless they return to you when you’re angry.”

“Ugh!” Corey shuddered, remembering the afternoon that the scouts had come back. He had been standing next to Theo, Stiles pacing in the middle of the throne room. In the blink of an eye the Chimera Emperor had gone from concerned to furious, lightning and fire arcing outwards from him in a tempest of rage, the very ground under their feet cracking and splintering as the returning chimeras were incinerated on the spot, their ashes blown away by Stiles’ elemental wrath. “Yeah, we don’t want to see that again.”

“My point stands,” Stiles glanced at him when the younger chimera stood on his other side. “Something happened to Connor and the other chimeras with him, and I will find out what that is, even if it takes me a thousand years to do it. Whoever is responsible will not escape my vengeance.” His burning purple gaze swept from Theo to Corey, before he stepped away from the edge and gestured for them to follow. “Come, we have matters of state to discuss, and a certain chimera is to get their memory wiped.”

“As you command, Emperor.”

 

Stiles started when someone touched his back, turning quickly to see his father standing next to him, the Imperial Guardians further back. “Ah, I didn’t think anyone would be up this late.”

“The palace is usually quieter at night,” His father explained. “It’s a good time to walk around, see everything I want to, with my trusty guards of course.”

“They’re for your protection.” Stiles muttered, looking back out at the sea. The storm had lessened since the daytime, allowing the moon to filter through the still-black clouds and dance along the tops of the waves. “The mountain town has not yet been constructed to my liking, when it’s completed, you can move there. You’ll be safer, and away from the…unpleasant realities of my rule.”

“I’ve had enough time to come to realize that you’re doing what you think is right.” The Sheriff placed a hand on his shoulder, gripping him once before letting go. “I’ve also spoken a lot with both Strauss and Parrish; Deputy to Commander is quite the leap in a promotion, huh?!”

“They guard palace and the city, enforcing the law.” Stiles shrugged. “Plus, an elevated title always makes it easier, right?”

“I guess, _Supreme Ruler of Earth!_ ” His father chuckled when Stiles’ lips twitched. “The point is that while the cost has been high, the potential for what could come next is unmatched. World Peace, no more hunger, no more wars, no more population pressure, and a lot of good intentions from almost every chimera I’ve met. It all adds up to becoming something quite spectacular.”

“Who was the chimera with bad intentions?”

“Err, well, you’ve met Theo, haven’t you?”

“Haha.” Stiles laughed for the first time in what felt like years. “Point taken. Have you heard about his ‘Werewolf World’ idea, yet?”

“In passing, when I was walking around the gardens last night.” His father nodded. “Groups of non-chimera werewolves placed into a large, multi-terrain space, like an island, and other chimeras can go there for a genuine good time? Recreating what it was like before the war, hunters and all?”

“That sounds about right.” Stiles grinned and shook his head. “I’m beginning to regret letting Corey show him _Jurassic Park_ now.”

“Hmm.” The Sheriff caught his gaze and held it as he spoke. “So, why aren’t you with them? Is this about Connor?”

Stiles pulled his gaze away, all trace of warmth draining from his face. “I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised that you heard about his…disappearance.”

“News travels fast when the Emperor is angry.” He nodded. “Not that I could miss the enormous storm system that’s been lingering overhead either. Have there been any developments in his case?”

“No, nothing.”

“Have you,” His father chose his words carefully even as Stiles’ eyes pulsed, and lightning started whipping down to crack on the surface of the waves. “Have you considered that Connor is-”

“He is not dead!” Stiles growled. “I won’t believe it until I see a body, and even then, I still have two vials of the Green Serum left, I can bring him back!”

“Like with Scott?”

“That was different, I needed Scott to return as a chimera, the serum would have brought him back as a werewolf.” Stiles dismissed the variance with an irritated wave. “No, I can return Connor just as he was: perfect, loyal, the ultimate chimera! He will be by my side forever!”

“If you say so, Stiles.”

“And then, when I have him back, together we will find the one who dared to take him from me, and _crush_ the life from their miserable body!” The Alpha Chimera snarled, mimicking the fangs from the Guardians behind him, his face transforming fully for a moment, before he managed to pull back to his normal, human features. His father’s pulse had sped up and Stiles glanced at him. “What?”

“I know you’re angry, you have every right to be,” The Sheriff reached out to pat his shoulder again. “But by all accounts, Connor was a good person-”

“Of course he was a good person!”

“I just meant, that maybe vengeance isn’t the answer this time.”

“Vengeance is the chimera way.” Stiles met his father’s gaze and nodded. “I never told you this because it only makes sense to another chimera. I am the Unified Overmind, and before that, just the Overmind. The one unique chimera in the entire world. Except, that’s not exactly true. I shared a fragment of my DNA, both human and Overmind with another.”

“Don’t tell me it was Theo.” The Sheriff groaned.

“It wasn’t.” Stiles shook his head. “Theo and Corey are both important to me, but it’s Connor who shares my DNA; he is Overmind without the power. We are…for want of a better word, brothers.”

His father stared at him for a minute, the silence stretching out between them. Finally, he looked to one side and gaped. “What?”

“Surprise!”

“But, I thought you loved him? Romantically, I mean?”

“It doesn’t matter, I’m still with Theo and Corey.”

“Stiles!” His father groaned again, “People can break up, you know!”

“I know, but, Theo made this Empire with me, and Corey has been there since the beginning. And even if there was none of that, I still feel amazing around them, it feels right.” Stiles sighed, gesturing aimlessly at the ocean, the skies calm again. “Besides, there is the small problem of Connor actually believing I’m a _god_ , he gets uncomfortable if I ask him to talk to me as an equal, he never sits down unless I command him to, and I’m pretty sure that the idea of us even kissing is anathema, never mind anything else!”

“Uh huh.”

“Plus, there’s the big issue of I don’t know what happened to him.” Stiles grunted, a sense of relief dripping in his constantly clenched stomach at finally having talked about his feelings out loud.

“Does he know that he shares part of the Overmind?” His father asked, leaning against the marble balustrade. “That he is your…brother? He’s not _my_ son, right? That’d be weird.”

“Uh, I don’t know?” Stiles frowned. “He doesn’t know, I never told him, I don’t think he’d be able to deal with the fact that we’d be so closely related, he knows I care about him. At least I hope he does, I haven’t given up on finding him.”

“Ok.” The Sheriff stood up, glancing at the Guardians, before he pulled Stiles into a hug. “I’m sure it’ll work out, son.”

 _It had better…_ Stiles thought to himself, returning the embrace. _Who else will bring my vision of glory to the stars and beyond?_

 

His eyes flickered open, the slime-covered entity was in front of him again, shiny black goo dripping over his dull and chipped armor as the monster extended a twisted and unnatural limb, pressing its corruption into his heart once more. “Argh!” Connor groaned, his vision swimming before him, sliding between the dank, underground dungeon and the Imperial Palace. “No!” He shook his head vigorously, banishing the familiar images, glaring instead at the creature. “Hah!” 

The bent limb was withdrawn with an unpleasant squelch and another barrage of images assaulted his mind; the capital in flames, his cathedral tumbling down like a Lego tower, the gates of the Imperial Palace studded with the shredded corpses of chimeras, oceans of blood and broken Guardians lying in a star in the middle of the throne room. Connor struggled grimly against the slick, goo-covered chains that held his arms stretched out and attached to the wall. _You will not defeat me!_ The monster didn’t have a face as far as he could see, simply a disturbingly smooth and shiny head, the bottom of it splitting in two to reveal seemingly endless rows of sharp, red teeth. Connor had watched as the monster, which he had named the Harvester, devoured three of his chimeras in one go, the maw widening and deepening to accommodate the muscular were-otters. 

The Harvester paused, the images fed to Connor’s mind zeroing in on the throne. After a few minutes of silent mental battling, it succeeded in wrenching an image of the Emperor from his mind. “No, you leave Him alone!” The monster seemed to grin at that, forcing him to watch as the Emperor was slowly ripped limb from limb, blood dripping onto the floor, the head falling onto the seat of the throne. “No!”

Mocking laughter filled his mind and the Harvester grinned toothily at him, the voice tumbling out of the mouth was sibilant and hoarse. “Sssso, thissss ruler of yourssss, very important to you! I will enjoy feassssting on hissss flessssh!”

“You will have to get to Him first!”

“That issss why you are here, Guardian Prime.” The Harvester extended another limb, its feet lost the pool of black goop that moved around with it. Connor watched with revulsion as one of the surviving chimeras from the crash hobbled over, the man having been overwhelmed by the Harvester’s corruption. “Ssssee what I have done? He belongssss to me now. Watch!”

“Fuck,” Connor muttered, staring as the goo receded into the chimera’s body, leaving him looking like he had before they were captured. “Infiltration, clever.”

“More than that, I will wriggle into the heart of the Empire and conssssume it from within!” The Harvester flicked its limb and the chimera was covered in goo again, before joining its new master, shuffling away from him. “You will break, jusssst like the resssst of them.”

“I will die first!” Connor spat at the monster, straining against the chains. But it was useless. Just like all the other times he had tried to escape; the Harvester had some sort of supernatural dampening effect on the underground chamber he was in, even his Earth elemental powers weren’t working. It was unbelievably slimy, dank, and dark, but despite the repeated attacks on his mind and body, Connor took it all in, filing away every encounter with the Harvester for later, when he would escape from the monster’s slime-covered limbs. 

The goop had already spread across his legs and lower stomach, inching towards his neck and face. It wasn’t painful exactly, though there were flashes of horror as he was forced to imagine the goo invading his mouth and fully corrupting him, just like the other chimeras who were unable to resist the Harvester’s assault. _My faith in the divine Emperor will shield me, as it has always done. The Löwenmensch could not break me, and neither will you. In fact, you give away far too much of yourself, monster, attacking my mind, joining it to yours. I know your plan: no grand plot to usurp or replace my master’s glorious Empire, no, you seek only to devour it!_ Connor grunted as the images returned to him; a barren wasteland, and the corrupt, bloated Harvester was all that remained of the Emperor’s glory in the monster’s horrifying vision of the future. “I need to get out of here, I need to find the Emperor and warn Him! Give me Your strength, master!” 

 

Scott raised a hand to shield his eyes and staggered out into the fury of the storm as it swept out over the top of the Imperial Palace, the almost flat surface only encouraging the winds to whip along at hurricane force. The doors to the Shrine of the Chimera were closed, and only the loose semi-circle of immobile Guardians encouraged Scott continue to struggle across the roof to where Stiles stood at the edge. “Emperor!” He shouted out, announcing his arrival. The bodyguards regarded him coolly, but none of them made a move to intercept him, and soon Scott was standing behind the chimera. “Emperor?”

“What is it, Scott?”

“Could you maybe come away from the edge? You could be blown right off!” The wind stole his words as soon as Scott shouted them, his face lashed by rain as lightning cracked overhead and thunder echoed constantly around them. “Please.”

“Stay still.” Stiles raised his hand and the stone of the roof sprang upwards, encasing Scott’s feet and anchoring him to the ground. “Better?”

“Not what I was thinking!”

“Hmm, and what brings the resurrected chimera werewolf to me in such inclement weather?” The Emperor’s voice was distant, and his gaze still locked onto the south-eastern horizon, the sun setting in a blaze of fire beyond the storm’s edge behind them. “Especially since you have not sought me out on your own before. Why now?”

“I wanted to talk to you.” Scott replied, the wind lessening around them. He could feel his skin prickling, a sensation he was getting used to in Stiles’ presence. Liam had warned him that the Emperor might draw on his abilities and further empower him. Scott didn’t want to admit that the idea interested him, he was having a hard-enough time remembering that no one called Stiles by his name anymore. “This storm is intense, huh?”

“Yes, it will last until the Guardian Prime is returned to me.”

“What?” Scott tilted his head back to look up at the furious maelstrom and then looked down at Stiles. “You’re creating this? That’s…wow, that’s impressive.”

“Hmm.” Stiles grunted, and Scott wrinkled his noise, smelling his anger like a face-full of bitter coffee grounds. “You still haven’t told me why you’re here.”

The wind around them had vanished completely now, but Scott stared at the trees in the distance as they bent almost completely over, the gale still battering them furiously. “Um, I guess, I just wanted to ask about my death, and, uh, why you brought me back.”

“I brought you back to serve a greater purpose.” The Emperor replied coldly, gesturing at the capital as it spread out in front of them, a maze of twinkling lights and reflections of glass and steel. “To unite chimera and werewolf into the glory of my Empire.”

“But…how did you resurrect me?”

“Blood and flesh and bone.” Stiles rumbled, sparing him a quick glance. “A dark and terrible ritual. The werewolves were going to do it anyway, I simply subverted their aims and turned the druids and the darachs to my purpose.”

“It sounds like someone was sacrificed.” Scott laughed nervously. 

“Not just one,” He shook his head, an edge of cruel amusement to his voice. “No. Fifty druids and fifty darachs poured their lives into the Nemeton’s power, add to that a hundred werewolves, traitors and rebels who would never have joined us.”

“Fuck.” Scott whispered staring at his hands. “I…I didn’t know.”

“But even then, two hundred souls were not enough to pull you back from the clutches of death itself.” The Emperor continued to talk, gesturing now with both hands as though he was in the middle of a grand speech. “For a task such as that, I needed endless souls! A bargain was struck with the entity that lives inside the Hellscape. That’s right, the place Kira sent Theo, it offered me power in exchange for the Ghost Riders.” Stiles paused, letting Scott absorb the information. “That agreement is not yet concluded, I feel, and may become useful in the future.”

Scott ignored Stiles’ final words, instead staring at the ground. “All that death just to bring me back? And what the hell are Ghost Riders?”

“Nothing more than a bedtime story, now.”

“Is there anything else I need to know?” Scott flailed around, trying not to freak out. “Like did you throw a few dozen children on the Nemeton while you were at it?!”

“No.” Stiles regarded him thoughtfully for a few minutes before shaking his head. “There is nothing more that you need to know.”

“Well, that was…I need to think about that later.” Scott tried to laugh, but the Emperor had turned back to stare at the horizon again. “Um, I have been wondering though, since Theo…killed me, and took my powers, right? Well, how come I’m still a werewolf?”

“Theo tapped your spark with the talons, true enough.” Stiles nodded. “But he did not steal the power of a True Alpha, only that of a werewolf. Supernatural creatures when tapped do not transfer all of their power, leaving the chimera with a less than potent set of abilities. But you are not a True Alpha anymore, Scott, though you could be an Alpha again.”

“But I would have to kill another werewolf.”

“And?”

“I know that’s no longer a big deal for you, but you know my rules-”

“Are _nothing_ any longer!” Stiles growled at him, finally showing emotion. “I am the Chimera Emperor, Supreme Ruler of Earth! I alone make the rules, and if I command you to kill, you will kill!”

“Ah,” Scott blinked, feeling his muscles and joints ache as though a massive hand was forcing him down onto one knee, his head lowering too, feet freed from their earthen tombs. “Argh!”

“You can resist if you want, Scott, but you are a chimera now!” Stiles whispered at him, purple eyes blazing like miniature suns. “You will follow my rules and kneel when I tell you to. Understand?”

“Yes, Emperor.” Scott muttered, his vocal cords forming the words for him. He glanced up at Stiles, shrinking backwards, for the first time feeling as though he really didn’t know the man in front of him. “I will do as you command.”

“Good.” The Emperor nodded, gesturing with his hand. “You may rise.”

“How do I start recruiting the werewolves, Emperor?” Scott asked after a few minutes of tense silence passed. “Do I-”

“You will do nothing for now. Continue training with Liam and his pack.” Stiles replied, “When the times comes, I will call for you.”

“Is that because of the Guardian Prime’s disappearance?” Scott stepped back suddenly, tripping over his feet as the Emperor turned fully to him, lightning sparking off his body. “Err…”

“What do you know?!” Stiles roared, reaching out to grab Scott’s t-shirt and pulled the chimera closer to him. “Tell me!”

“Nothing! I don’t know anything about it, only what I’ve heard.” Scott shook his head rapidly, grunting as he was released and fell onto the stone roof. “Ah!”

“Sorry,” The Emperor muttered, turning away from him to continue staring in a south-eastern direction, Scott finally realizing that was the route Connor took from the Imperial Palace. “You may leave.”

“As you command, Emperor.” Scott bowed slightly, still unsure of the protocol; he made a mental note to ask Liam about that later. The chimera paused, looking back at his former best friend. “It’s not your fault.” The Emperor didn’t reply, and Scott sighed quietly, leaving the rooftop as the gale resumed around him, the storm’s intensity ramping up again. 

 

“All praise and glory to You, divine Chimera Emperor,” The supplicant took a breath before launching into Stiles’ extensive list of titles. “Master of Chimeras, the Unified Overmind, Restorer of Life, Defeater of Death, Supreme Ruler of the Earth, the Alpha Chimera-”

“Enough.” Stiles held up his hand, sitting restlessly on his throne, the same old adulation feeling boring and irritating. “This is…leave me.”

“As You command, mighty Emperor!” The man gave an overly extravagant bow, backing away from him.

“Hmph.” He grunted, watching them scurry out until at last he was left alone in the cavernous hall with only the Guardians around him, and the Ancient chimeras at his feet. Stiles tapped the arms of his elaborate throne, looking to his left where Connor used to always stand, and he sighed, standing up suddenly. The Chimera Emperor hurried down the dais and headed towards the grand, twenty foot tall doors leading to the main plaza in front of the palace. His bodyguards and chimeras flowed around him seamlessly as he walked across the square, ignoring the crowds of people that had gathered to see him, the Guardians holding them back. 

Stiles didn’t stop, moving quickly through the heavily fortified main gate and under the spread legs of his massive statue, finally coming to a stop in the enormous square that signalled the end of the Path of Legends. Many of the plinths had been filled with statues, and the one Stiles had reserved especially for Connor, over the Guardian Prime’s objections, was already occupied, the stoic figure looking nobly towards his own likeness. _Not that it looks like him, Connor never wore a helmet. It's more a statue of his armor. He insisted though, far too humble to be recreated in marble. And Theo jumped on that like it was a sign of weakness._

The Chimera Emperor resumed walking, slower now, pausing when he reached the center of the paved plaza. A smile touched his lips as he looked over at the slowly rising walls of his new army headquarters. “Imperial High Command, I’ve never seen the Generals so happy!” The structure was still mostly a steel skeleton, reaching up into the sky, imitating the ziggurat behind him, but Stiles nodded. “It will be glorious, a true center of power for those who have extended my will across the planet. We’ll need a new one, of course, for when Chimera Space Command is up and running, maybe beside it?” The Emperor continued on, not expecting his Guardians or the Ancient chimeras to answer him. Instead, he turned his attention towards the magnificent and sprawling cathedral that served as the center of his religion. 

The Church of the Emperor in Ascendence’s actual church looked as though Connor had picked up Notre-Dame cathedral and placed it exactly, brick by brick, on the other side of the square. “Well, except for that enormous spire, huh?” Stiles grinned openly, tilting his head back to follow the long and rounded tower that stretched up into the sky, stopping just short of the Imperial Palace’s roof. “Offices and quarters for the Faithful, Connor said, so they can devote every moment to honoring me and my Empire, as though the artistry around the front of the building wasn’t enough. Every sculpture, every detail glorifies the Chimera Empire, a visible demonstration of our power and unity! And to have it constructed so quickly? The Faithful are a force to be reckoned with!” Stiles moved closer, looking up at the new details that had been added since he had last been here a few weeks before. 

He made his way to the door, the Guardians holding back throngs of the Faithful and entered the now empty church. Stiles walked through the sacred space, still new, and yet feeling old, his footsteps echoing around the massive space. A smirk twisted his lips as he frowned at the huge gold statue of himself dominating the altar, ranks of Ancient chimeras kneeling before him. _Well, this is surreal, I guess I never noticed it was made of gold when I was with him. Maybe he had drapes over it?_ The Chimera Emperor moved through the wings, and found himself in a more secluded hallway, far from the main area. He stopped in front of the mural he had commissioned for Connor on the insistence of Theo and Corey.

The paint was still fresh, only finished that day, but it was him. “Connor.” Stiles muttered, resting his hands on the empty marble plinth in front of the fresco. “As close to living as I can get. I know Greenberg has some propaganda reels and footage of you, but you’re either too zealous or too stone-faced. This does you justice, the almost hint of a smile, brows ever so slightly furrowed, my perfect chimera…I don’t care what Theo says, no coffin goes on this plinth until I know what happened to you.”

“Overmind.” The quiet whisper of air behind him belonged to Horus, the hawk-headed Ancient chimera. He gestured at the Guardian Prime’s likeness, “He still lives, Overmind.”

“I’d like to believe that too.” Stiles sighed. “But I can’t feel his presence any longer, I can’t-”

“He lives.” The Ancient chimera insisted, “You will see.” Horus reached out with his hand, placing it against the Emperor’s chest. “You must seek him out, not with the abilities these Doctors of Dread gave you, but with our power; Overmind. Try it, and you will see him again.”

“You…” Stiles trailed off, seeing Theo approaching him, the Ancient chimeras slipping away to resume their silent vigil around the altar of the church. He glanced at Theo. “What is it?”

“Peter Hale has arrived, wanting to know if he can become a chimera?”

“Interesting.” The Chimera Emperor nodded, sparing a glance for the mural before setting off, the Ancient chimera’s words echoing in his mind. _You will see him again…_

 

Stiles lay on his back, staring up at the ceiling as Theo and Corey slept beside him, both turned on their sides. His eyes glowed softly in the darkness, allowing him to see the smooth, flawless paint above him, the words Horus had whispered in the cathedral earlier that day were still floating through his mind on repeat. The Ancient chimeras almost never spoke, not even to him, Connor was the only one they seemed to like. _Maybe there’s something to what Horus said._ After what felt like an hour of silent restlessness, Stiles carefully pushed the duvet back, and climbed out of the bed. He could hear both Theo and Corey’s heartbeats remaining slow and steady, fast asleep, not hearing him as he padded across the thick carpet of the bedroom and slipped into large living room. Stiles made his way over to the secret elevator that still remained hidden from everyone but him, stepping inside and muttering the command code. “Delve.”

The chamber was just as he remembered it; cool and large, the space reverberating with his footsteps as the heavy steel blast door whirred shut behind him. Stiles glanced at the entrance to the Hellscape, before moving to a different part of the room, where the floor was smooth, and the light didn’t quite reach. _Whatever Horus was talking about probably requires a lot of concentration. I wonder why he never mentioned it before? Might have had to do with the last of the Ancient chimeras arriving from Ka’narack earlier this week? I suppose it doesn’t matter if it works._

He sat down, eyes closed, breathing slowly, and extended his influence upwards through the miles of rock and earth until he could feel the chimeras near him, their abilities exploding around him like a flower unfurling its petals. But Stiles didn’t stop at the ones in the palace, reaching instead for all the chimeras in Victory City, their power surrounding him in a rush, his mind afire with the possibilities. For a moment, he shared their emotions and a dozen different sensations rolled across his skin, smiling as he felt, rather than saw, Parrish show off his new wings to Strauss, and the twins dancing with Nick in some smoke-filled nightclub across the city. But the Chimera Emperor didn’t linger with them, instead adding their power to his own, letting their eyes burn with his purple fire. More and more chimeras, he gathered to him, the effect was hypnotic, and his breathing and heart slowed to where it pumped only every few seconds, his mind casting ever outwards. 

Stiles gasped as he felt his chest tighten; the sensation of a second heart beating alongside his human one as the twin Overminds activated and flooded his body with chemicals. He frowned as a new feeling filtered over him; dark, wet, cold, slimy, an awareness of being underground, like the Dread Doctors’ labs, but this was different. Foreboding gripped his stomach and fear lanced into his muscles, but Stiles continued exploring the feeling, grim corridors appearing in his mind’s eye, strange, black goop sucking at his feet as he pushed open a door to find…

“Connor!” Stiles gasped, his eyes flicking open. For a moment he had found the Guardian Prime, shackled, defeated, half-covered in slime, head bowed as his eyes fired for a moment with purple fury. “Argh!” The Chimera Emperor grunted, placing his hands on the cool floor, grounding himself back in reality. “I almost had it. Let’s try that again!”


	2. The Bonds of Brotherhood

Theo glared at the smooth wooden surface of the table as he listened to Stiles talk about his _vision._ The chimera felt his pulse tick ever higher, especially when he glanced left and right, seeing Nick and Philip gazing at his boyfriend as though he _was_ a literal god. _Because having a religion based entirely on yourself wasn’t enough, huh, Stiles? Now you have to have visions! I mean, come on, what happened to the monster who terrified his enemies and grinned as their cities burned and fell beneath the might of the chimera war machine? He was-_

“Theo!” Stiles forced his head upwards, breaking into his thoughts.

“What?” The First Chimera snapped, anger filling his voice as Stiles continued to use his power to directly control him. _We are equals! You’re not meant to use your Overmind abilities on me, Stiles!_

“I have a task for you.” The Emperor smirked coldly, an echo of the man Theo had been thinking about moments earlier, the same cruel twist in his scent. “Prepare yourself to lead the expedition to find my Guardian Prime.”

“What?” He repeated, shaking his head.

“Weren’t you paying attention? The Ancient chimera, Horus, told me to use my Overmind powers and I would be able to see Connor again.” The Emperor paused, hands spread wide. “And I did. Unfortunately, I cannot find him, but I know the area in which he was taken.”

“Taken?” Theo frowned. “What are you talking about?”

“The Guardian Prime has been taken, Theo, kidnapped.” Stiles replied patiently. “I saw him in a dark underground chamber, chained to a wall, alive, but not responding to me.”

“Well, it was just a _vision_ , Stiles.” The First Chimera didn’t keep the scepticism from his voice, adding, “Did you see where this underground cell emerged? Or any landmarks? I’m not going to be traipsing around Arizona for weeks trying to find one chimera; we can just make another, or raise another Guardian-”

“We had this discussion the last time, Theo.” Stiles cut across him forcibly. “And you know the reasons why Connor must be returned to me. I have the general area you’ll need to search, my chimera is there, I know he is.”

“Fine.” Theo barked irritably, not hiding his glare even as Philip and Nick shrunk away from him, Stiles’ form prickling with electricity. _Brothers…if I had known Stiles was going to do something as stupid as that I would’ve stuck around here._

“Good.” Stiles nodded as though it had been settled. “I will remain here.”

“You’re not coming?” The Minister for Chimera Intelligence looked up from his notes with a frown.

“No, Corey.” The Emperor glanced at the younger chimera sitting on Theo’s other side. “We have a lot of new chimera werewolves who just got elevated, and I want to witness Peter’s chimeraification myself-make sure it’s not a trick. Besides, Scott still doesn’t think of himself as one of us yet, and an opportunity to change that has presented itself.”

“You mean the prisoner?”

“Yes, Parrish’s forces arrested him this morning; I will sentence him later or tomorrow, and we will see if Scott is ready to be deployed to the final holdouts.”

“Still going ahead with that plan?” Theo looked at Stiles, his expression returning to normal. “I could use those werewolves for my own...”

“Amusement?” He grinned, eyes remaining a cool purple. “We shall see, Theo, Scott has been conditioned very well by Liam and Philip, so perhaps he will lead the lambs to their salvation.”

“Not sure that’s how it goes, Stiles.”

“Hmm, regardless, I am staying here.” The Emperor nodded at Philip, “You will join me, Scott trusts you and Liam and Mason; and when we take the final rebel to the Rhino’s Horn for his mind wiping, it will be important that Liam and Scott remain calm. Do you understand?”

“Yes, Emperor.”

Theo bobbed his head slowly as if he was listening to Stiles and Philip talk about Scott, but his mind was elsewhere, treading down a dark path as an idea occurred to him. _Stiles puts me in charge of this expedition, fine, and we should find Connor, if only to put a stop to this endless searching and worrying for him. I know he says that he only cares so much because of their “special” bond, but that’s not the whole truth: Stiles still has feelings for him. And Connor is powerful enough already, I can’t let him accrue any more. But returning with his dead body…Stiles can grieve for a few days and then move on. And if the Guardian Prime is not quite dead when we find him…_ Theo chuckled darkly to himself, forgetting where he was. When the First Chimera looked up, Stiles was still talking, though his attention was focused on Theo. _Crap!_

“So, yeah, Corey, you and Garrett will be accompanying Theo.” Stiles finished speaking, gesturing at the two Guardians standing behind him. “It’ll be just you two though, all your petitioning has paid off, I'll remove the guard detail on Garrett, but I’m holding you responsible for him.”

“I’m not saying he’s totally changed, Stiles,” Corey smiled, scent shifting into eagerness. “But he’ll take the second chance, and I’ll be safe, don’t worry.”

“I’m not worried, since Nick will be joining you as well. I need that insurance.”

“As You command, Emperor.” The Dragon bowed his head. “I will protect Your chosen with my life.”

“Excellent.” Stiles stood up, waving for them to leave. “Theo? A moment.”

 

Stiles waited until they were alone, and Theo folded his arms across his chest. “You’re angry?”

“You think?” The chimera glared at him. “Why can’t you ever let him go? I’m pretty sure I can just build a better bodyguard for you, Stiles.”

“It’s not about him being my Guardian Prime, it’s about-”

“I know that.” Theo cut across him. “I know what this is really about, but I need you to promise me something, Stiles.”

“What?” The Emperor turned away and walked over to the window, looking out on the plaza in front of the palace. 

“This is the last time, you can’t keep putting Connor above me or Corey. We’re the ones who love you, remember?”

“And he doesn’t?” Stiles whispered, hearing Theo’s pulse quicken. “Sure, he loves me as a god, but Connor is important to me, Theo, and you do not get to dictate who I spend my time with, or what I choose to do. _I_ am the Chimera Emperor!”

“I know, you never hesitate to remind me.” Theo growled at him. “But I am your _equal_ , Stiles; I raised you up to this lofty position.”

“And what? Are you threatening to bring me back down?”

“No. Just reminding you who you owe your fancy Empire to.” The chimera was still looking at him, but Stiles remained with his back turned. “I’ll find Connor, or what’s left of him.”

“Theo,” Stiles called out as his boyfriend made to leave, eyes flashing. _Muscles lock._

“Damn it, Stiles!” Theo shouted, unable to move his legs.

The Chimera Emperor turned around and walked over to face him. “Let me make something very clear, Theo, if Connor is dead, when my visions showed him alive, I’ll know exactly who to blame. And that fancy little blood pit you’re having built on the level below our quarters will be stained crimson a whole lot sooner, understood?”

“Yeah.” Theo nodded, his pulse quick and scent varying between anger and arousal. “I understand.”

“But here’s the real issue, Theo,” Stiles patted his cheek affectionately. “If you could just get out of your insecurity about Connor for a moment, I might be able to tell you why _you_ need to go on this trip.”

“I’m listening.”

“I haven’t told anyone else since I don't know what it is, and gods can’t be wrong.” He smirked when Theo rolled his eyes, releasing his hold on the chimera. “But something did take Connor, whether it’s a creature or a person, I’m not sure. I felt a darkness and a hunger when I was in that cell, plus he’s covered in some sort of goop. So, yes, find my Guardian Prime, but find this monster and their weapon, and bring them to me, for the glory of our Empire!”

“You couldn’t have led with that?” Theo sighed at him, “I thought you knew by now how jealous I can get.”

“Of course, that’s why I did it, it’s so much fun seeing you get riled up!” Stiles laughed and pulled Theo towards him, crushing their lips together. After a breathless few seconds, he released the chimera and nodded at the door. “Go get yourself ready, find my chimera and the monster, but do be careful, Theo.”

“Yes, Alpha Chimera.”

Stiles grinned again, watching him leave, calculating eyes skimming across Theo’s body and then he turned to regard the plaza once more. The Emperor had been standing quietly for a few minutes when the doors parted, and a familiar chimera entered, kneeling on the floor behind him, head touching the ground. “You may rise, Brett.”

“Glory to You, Chimera Emperor!”

“And what can I do for you?”

“The Dragon has told me that You’re sending a party to search for the Guardian Prime.” Brett stood up, keeping his gaze averted as Stiles looked towards him. “I request to go with them.”

“Do you now?” Stiles muttered, his eyes flicking up and down the muscular chimera, tight t-shirt framing his arms particularly well. “And why would you want to do that?”

“We’ve become friends, master, I care…about him.” Brett hesitated, “And Your church needs him back, he is the guiding light for our religion; the chimera who brings Your holy commands to everyone.”

“Really?” The Emperor nodded slightly. _And I suppose this has nothing to do with the way your pulse races at the mere sound of his name? Hmm, there are few chimeras I would be happy with seeing Connor form a friendship with, but you will pass._ “You served me well as an infiltrator, and someone who obeyed my will alone. Do you still feel that way?”

“You are the Chimera Emperor, there is no one else who has my loyalty.” Brett answered quickly.

“Excellent.” Stiles whispered, reaching under the table to produce a slim silver case. “I was going to give this to Corey, but I know you will not be swayed by the First Chimera and whatever…justification he tries to make.” 

“Master?”

The Emperor opened the case and gestured for Brett to approach. “Probably the rarest and most valuable substance in the entire Empire!” He grinned, holding up a single vial of the Green Serum. “We have two left; this is one of them. You will administer this to the Guardian Prime once you have found him. No exceptions, no maybes, that is a direct command.”

“Yes, Emperor.” Brett bowed, slipping the silver case and its precious contents into his pocket. “It will be done.”

“Brett,” Stiles turned his purple gaze on the chimera. “There is something else, the First Chimera is not to be trusted, once Connor is in your custody, call for evac, have the Osprey standing by. And if Theo tries to force the issue, you are to do whatever is necessary to protect my Guardian Prime; Nick will be with you. Don’t kill him, though, Theo is still mine.”

“As You command, Emperor.”

 

“Hmm.” Corey frowned at Growler as the puppy sat in the middle of the bed, chewing on the sleeve of a sweater. “I don’t think I can bring you this time, pup. Don’t look at me like that! Sure, you’re still cute, and those legs are getting long enough for a proper walk, but maybe you’ll be safer here.”

“Corey, are you talking to your dog again?”

“Yes, Theo.” He rolled his eyes, “I know he doesn’t understand what I’m saying, but it’s the tone that matters.”

“Uh, right.” The older chimera entered the bedroom and kissed him on the temple, reaching in to pat Growler’s head. “He can probably stay here with Stiles.”

“You don’t think he’d mind?”

“Well, once you can stop your dog from chewing on Stiles' sweaters, sure!”

“What?! Growler!” Corey snatched the pullover from the puppy’s mouth in horror. “Bad dog!”

“Aww, now he’s upset!” Theo sat on the bed, smirking at Corey. “Dog scents are just like humans and chimeras, you know?”

“Why are you even here?” Corey fretted over the chewed ends of the sleeve. “Don’t you have someone to terrorize or a surgery to perform?”

“No, I have to prepare for this expedition.” Theo replied, the grin falling from his lips. “I can’t believe Stiles is making us go.”

“You know how he feels about Connor.”

“Yeah, he said there was a monster or something that took him, so we need to retrieve that too.” He shrugged as Corey lifted a complaining Growler off the bed, tossing the ball for the puppy to run after. “I guess that’s something, depending on what it is we might be able to get some new chimeras out of it.”

“It’d have to be pretty strong to take Connor down.” Corey pulled his clothes out of the drawers and sorted through them, glancing up as Theo scowled. “Hey, it’s true, we both know that the Guardian Prime is pretty much the strongest chimera there is, even away from Stiles. This is the guy who took on dozens of Nogitsunes and Kitsunes during the war, and fought Garrett in single combat during my rescue, and-”

“Ok, ok, I get it.” Theo scowled harder. “Even you have a hardon for him!”

“It’s not like that, Connor is my friend. And besides, haven’t you noticed by now that Stiles with Connor beside him is actually the best version of Stiles for you and me?”

“Well…”

“Do I need to point at the sky so you can see the insane storm we’ve had for the past few weeks?!” Corey sighed, opening the sliding door for Growler to go outside, wiping the paw prints from the glass. “C’mon, Theo, let’s just get everything back to normal. You’re always saying that Stiles isn’t how you remember him, but the way it’s been for the past year is pretty good right? He’s cold and brutal when there are enemies to fight, and good, and kind, and nice when he’s with us.”

“And you chalk all that up to Connor?” Theo shook his head. “Before that guy was a chimera, Stiles-”

“Was like you, I remember.” Corey cut across him. “This way is better; he leads an entire civilisation now, he has to be everything, and I know Stiles doesn’t want to be a tyrant sitting on a throne of skulls.”

“He is a tyrant!” Theo glared at him. “Look, I get it, Connor balances Stiles in ways I can’t, and that’d be fine if he ever tried to exploit that, but he doesn’t!”

Corey stared at him for a minute, before shaking his head. “You’re crazy.”

“Why?”

“Because you expect everyone to act like you, and Connor is totally different.” Corey pointed at the door, and Theo nodded, opening it for the puppy. “Look, why don’t we just consider this an opportunity to get out of the palace and I don’t know, see another part of the Empire. I’ve never been to Arizona.”

“It’s a lot of desert.” Theo muttered darkly. He paused, considering it. “Well, I suppose you’re right, I do enjoy walking among the people.”

“Uh huh.” Corey nodded and hid his smirk. _You say walking, I say watching them flee in terror and kneel before your terrible fury!_

 

Stiles stood on the helipad as the Osprey’s rotors began to turn, the howl of the engines reaching him where he waited with Theo and Corey. “Everyone is aboard, and you have all you need?”

“Yeah, we have maps, supplies, all that sort of thing.” Theo nodded, glancing at Corey, but the younger chimera was too busy fussing over Growler and talking to the dog. “Stiles, we should be back in a few days; with Connor or at least news of where he was.”

“Good, Tucson is mostly intact, rebuilding efforts there have been very successful.” The Emperor nodded, gesturing for Theo to move away from Corey. “What’s with the sea change? Earlier you were talking like Connor was nothing more than a disposable chimera, and now he’s suddenly very valuable?”

“Corey made me realize how valuable he is to you. I’ll admit that I don’t see it, but I’m not going to be happy if you’re not happy, Stiles.” Theo placed his hands on Stiles’. “No more distractions, build the world you want to see, and the chimeras I make from now on will make the Dread Doctors’ creations look like a third-grade science project!”

“Alright.” Stiles grinned at him, “Just don’t forget that the Doctors made _us_.”

“And we’ve been improving each other ever since!” The First Chimera looked back at Corey. “Well, except for him, pretty sure Corey is perfect the way he is.”

“Agreed.” They walked back over to the younger chimera. “Ready?”

“Um, yeah, so, there’s list of Growler’s food and amounts and stuff on my side of the bed, but Janet has that covered,” Corey said, anxiety sparking in his scent. “Just in case something happens, and, um, you know he’s fully toilet trained, so he’ll knock on the door if he wants to go out, and-”

“I got it, Corey.” Stiles laughed good naturedly at him, holding his hand out for the lead. “C’mon, give me control!”

“He’s not a chimera.” Corey muttered, reluctantly handing Stiles the lead and crouching down to stroke the young dog’s head. “It’s ok, puppy, I’ll be back soon, you be a good dog now, ok?” He forced a smile, tilting Growler’s face towards him, and kissed the puppy on the head gently. 

“Eww, Corey!” Theo stuck out his tongue in disgust. “You kiss us with those lips!”

“And you have a blood fetish, so shut up!” Corey glared at him.

“Ok, guys, chill, you have a whole flight to argue about this.”

“Yeah, c’mon, Corey.” Theo placed his arm around the chimera’s waist and pointed him towards the Osprey. “We’ll see you in a few days, Stiles.”

“Happy hunting.”

“Oh, I’m sure it will be!” Theo flashed him a grin and climbed inside the aircraft. 

“Hmm.” Stiles grunted, watching the Osprey take off and fly around and over the palace, rapidly disappearing from view. “Brett has his orders, and Nick will prevent any bloodshed, if Theo is foolish enough to attack Connor.” The Emperor fell into silence, before tugging on the lead and gesturing for his Guardians to follow. 

 

“I can’t believe Nick went with them!” Jason muttered, waiting for the attendants to bring out another training dummy, the last one studded with spears of ice. “And left us behind!”

“I know,” Josh shrugged, hanging in the air beside him on his transparent wings. “But the Emperor himself asked them to go and that’s not really something you can just refuse.”

“Hmm, I suppose.” The Elemental chimera grunted, waving his right arm up and down, the ice armor flowing and moving around his limb, fresh spikes forming and ready to fire. “But what are we meant to do while he’s gone playing the hero?”

“We can train.”

“For what war? Everything is over!”

“Um, practice merging for when he comes back?”

“Meh,” Jason paused, glancing at his twin. “I don’t mind jerking off in that form when Nick is with us, but alone is just weird. I could practice sucking you off?”

“Ugh, bro!” Josh lifted off and flew away from him.

“It was only a suggestion!” Jason shouted after him, shrugging when the humans looked at him. “What?”

Josh soared over the city, looking down at the streets he used to play in, and the apartment he lived in, the school he was a Sophomore in just a few short months before. “Now I’m a chimera! Hell, I’m flying!” He turned north-east, heading out of the capital and into the desolation beyond, the Emperor hadn’t re-built any of the towns or villages stripped bare during the War of the Ghost Riders, leaving them as silent monuments to the fallen. Even though Corey had managed to rescue most of the loyalists who were captured by the Ghost Riders during the final battle, a lot of them had already been turned into fuel for Garrett’s war machine. 

He continued to ascend higher above the ground, thermals lifting him to ever loftier heights, the sky was a deep blue around him, while everything below had faded into a bright sandy color. After fifteen minutes of flight, Josh tipped his wings and gradually glided down to the ground, coming in to land with a short run, his wings folding away and disappearing. The chimera’s cheeks were flushed, his bare chest protected from chills by the elemental air armor, even as his skin was pleasantly warmed by the sun. The town he had landed in was barely deserving of the title; two streets in a crossroads with a church, gas station and school all nearby, houses stretching out around him on both sides of the street. 

“Huh, deserted.” Josh started walking along the dust-covered road, looking around, but the entire town seemed to be empty. “I guess it’s like this all over now; nothing but abandoned towns waiting for nature to reclaim them. Everyone says the Emperor has a vision, but I don’t know what that could be when there are so few people left. Maybe when they crack chimera breed-” He froze, the words dying on his lips as his enhanced hearing picked up a sound; the dropping of something metallic. 

The chimera frowned, moving forward slowly, towards the diner, hearing the noise again. His heart began to beat faster, and wind whirled around him, wings appearing and swirling cyclones wrapping themselves around his arms, ready to strike. Josh heard the click of a gun before he saw it, the round pushed into the chamber, letting him duck down and form a tempest in front of his body as shotgun pellets sprayed out and pinged the cars beside him. “Rawr!” He snarled wordlessly, vision destroyed by the dust cloud, but he could still hear the heartbeat of whoever was attacking him. Josh thrust out his hands, the cyclones blasting out in streams of pressurised air.

“Ahhhh!” There was a sudden scream, too high to be a man or woman, before it was cut off by a sickly crunch.

“What…” Josh moved forward, using his abilities to blow the dust away, his stomach sinking as he looked at the discarded gun and small, crumpled body next to it. “Fuck!” The kid looked about ten, with mismatched clothes and dirty blond hair. The chimera crouched down, reaching out with a shaking hand to touch the child’s chest, closing his eyes when he felt nothing there. “I…the gun, I thought…there’s nothing I can do. I’m sorry.” 

Josh stood back up, looking around guiltily, before launching himself into the air, using his wings to propel him back to Victory City rapidly, still under its constant thunderstorm. “Ok, ok, there was probably no one else there, it wasn’t…there was a gun! C’mon, what was I…fuck, fuck, fuck!”

Jason was still flinging ice bolts at targets when Josh landed beside him, tears streaming down his face, dust clinging to his body. “Um, bro, you ok? I was only messing about-”

“I need to talk to you.”

“Sure.” Jason frowned, seeing the desperate look in his brother’s eyes. “C’mon.” 

 

“Emperor!” 

Scott stared at Liam and Philip as they jumped to their feet, remembering to do so after a moment when Stiles and his Guardians swept into the Legendary chimera’s apartment. Mason remained sitting down however, until Stiles’ eyes burned with purple fire and the chimera was forced upright. Scott swallowed hard, remembering the way Stiles had leaned into his face right at the moment Theo pierced his heart, the same violet gaze. It had been the last thing he had seen before darkness fell and death claimed him on that night. It felt like only a few days before, but Scott knew now that many years had passed and Stiles was no longer the man he had grown up with, perhaps. “Um…”

“Much better.” The Emperor smirked at Mason, ignoring the fury in the chimera’s eyes. “As I’m sure you’ve heard; Theo, Corey, and a number of other chimeras have left to search for my Guardian Prime, and Corey left his dog behind.” Stiles gestured, and a large grey puppy bounded into the room, immediately running to Scott. “Hmm, seems he likes you.”

“Yeah, dogs usually do.” Scott smiled at him and crouched down to pet the animal.

“Hmph.” Stiles waited for Philip to vacate the chair beside the unlit fire, gesturing for him to sit with Liam, Scott remaining on the floor with the dog. The Emperor nodded at Mason, forcing him back down while glancing at Liam. “Have you told him yet?”

“You’re actually going to do it?” Liam swallowed hard when Stiles nodded. “I haven’t told him.”

“Told me what?” Mason glared at Stiles, trying to rise, gasping instead as his muscles locked. “I’m going to kill you!”

“You would have to be able to move first, _chimera_.” Stiles grinned cruelly at him. “And if I wanted to, I could turn you inside out with the snap of my fingers! You may yet have a use, and Liam has served me faithfully for nearly three years, he deserves a little…reward.”

“Liam?” Mason glanced away from Stiles’ smirk and looked instead at the Alpha. “What’s he talking about?”

“It’ll be ok, just a way for you to stay alive, and less stressed, and well, you’d thank me later if you remembered.” Liam shifted uncomfortably on the couch, squeezing Philip’s hand when the chimera placed it on top of his own. He glanced at Stiles. “He won’t remember any of this, will he?”

“No.” The Emperor shook his head, “The procedure will obliterate everything that has happened from after the Battle of Beacon Hills, leaving him with memories of being nothing but a loyal Imperial subject.”

“What?! No, no, you can’t!” Mason tried to move, but he was still held prisoner by his own body, muscles locked in place by Stiles. “ARGH!”

“Silence.” Stiles muttered irritably, and the sound of Mason’s screams cut off abruptly, the furious chimera gaping wordlessly like a fish. He looked at Scott, “Something you want to add?”

“Um,” He wet his lips as Liam and Philip minutely shook their heads in his direction. “Well, just, what are you going to do to him? Hasn’t he been through enough?”

“It is exactly what he has been through that I will be taking from him.” Stiles replied, a spark of electricity jumping off his finger to ignite the fire, dry wood crackling and blazing as though it had been lit for hours. “When Liam surrendered, Mason was part of our agreement; he would be safe, his family safe-they still are, incidentally. But then Mason decided to rebel, commit acts of treason, and even though he didn’t kill anyone himself, chimeras and loyalists still died at the hands of his rebels. Even when given the choice of a quiet life with Satomi’s pack, he still chose to fight: a hardy warrior, though not one who can stand against my power.”

“But he won’t be dead?”

“I’m sure the Mason we have in front of us thinks it would be better if he died than being locked in a chimera body for all time.” Stiles shrugged as Scott frowned. “We’re working on chimera immortality, it’s in the pipeline. But I’ll wipe his mind and reset him to just after the war, it worked remarkably well on Lydia.”

“Lydia?!” Scott sat up quickly, staring at him. “Where-”

“I think that’s enough questions for now.” Stiles stood up and pointed at Mason. “Take him.” The Guardians moved quickly; one grabbing the motionless chimera as the other one jabbed him in the neck with a syringe. Stiles watched the other three chimeras however, smirking slightly when Scott rocked forward on instinct, almost as though he wanted to intervene. Once Mason was out cold, the Alpha Chimera nodded. “Good, we need to go to the Rhino’s Horn to perform this procedure; you will come with me, of course, to be there for Mason when he wakes up, and so that you can witness the limitless power of the Chimera Emperor.” Stiles added, staring right at Scott. 

 

“You have a good idea of where we’re going, right?” Theo called out to Brett and Nick, the pilot bringing them over miles of endless desert. “Did the Emperor give you any specifics to go on, or are we just poking in the blind here?”

“I have the co-ordinates of where the Guardian Prime’s Osprey went down, wreckage was scattered out for miles around it,” Brett explained, looking back at him. “Whatever took them out of the sky completely tore the vehicle apart, but the Emperor said that there was a sign for a scrap yard near where His vision transferred from the surface to the underground chamber.”

“Is that all?”

“No, I’ve had my analysts search the area for anything that could be used in the way that Stiles described it.” Corey shouted at him, the roar of the rotors increasing as the pilot brought them higher over steep ground, the desert giving way to rocks and boulders. “They’ve narrowed it down to a few dozen places or so, but we’ll tear through them, Theo.”

“Sure.” The First Chimera nodded, falling silent and looking out through the open side door instead, the cold air not bothering him, even as Corey snuggled deeper into his fur-lined coat. Garrett was sitting suspiciously close to the younger chimera, but Theo’s thoughts were cast adrift, wondering what they would find when they stumbled across whatever dark chamber Connor was being held in. He had no doubts that they would find the Guardian Prime, but who would find him first was what gnawed at his mind. _Despite what Stiles said, and what I said before we left, I can’t risk Connor coming back. Him vanishing without a trace was bad, but him returning as a corpse with no clear idea who or what killed him…Stiles will accept that, even if he puni-_

The Osprey lurched, jolting Theo from his thoughts, he looked up to see Brett communicating earnestly with the pilot, bringing them in a more southerly direction. _It doesn’t matter, and the more time it takes for us to find him gives me more time to figure out how to kill him. Corey was right; Connor is one of the strongest chimeras in the Empire._ Theo’s expression twisted as he realized the truth in his boyfriend’s words, claws emerging; longer and sharper than a normal werewolf’s, but not the serrated knifes that Connor seemed to wield. The First Chimera grimaced, wishing he had thought to bring some of the chemicals from his lab. _Poison might kill him, maybe, but however I’m going to take him out, I need an edge._ He glanced at Brett, catching the infiltrator’s eye. “How much longer?”

“Less than an hour, First Chimera.”

 

The room was just as Stiles remembered it from the time they had brought Lydia here; the same raised circular dais in the center, and surgical chair bolted to the floor on top of it. There were groups of chimeras gathered around the long, thick tubes that hung from the ceiling, a clear liquid bubbling through the pipes and converging at a complicated looking device that was directly above the chair. The Chimera Emperor dismissed their bows with the wave of his hand, walking across the silver floor to look at the chair. He closed his eyes, feeling for a moment as though Connor was behind him, a phantom presence that vanished as soon as he turned around. Stiles glared at the metal walls, angry with himself for letting hope fire again. _Not yet, soon though, soon Connor will be back where he belongs, with who he belongs._

He looked over when Liam, Philip, and Scott entered the chamber, their expressions turning to surprise and amazement as they came closer. “Enjoying the tour of the facility, Scott?”

“I can’t believe you built all this!” There was genuine awe in his voice. Scott grinned at him, gesturing expansively. “Like, everything, the whole tower!”

“The Skinwalkers’ abilities have proven very useful.” Stiles nodded, allowing himself a small smile. He waited until they came over to him fully, shaking his head as they made to kneel. “You may stand; we will be starting very soon. It is imperative that you remain silent, and motionless. There is a limited window into which I can manipulate his memories. You will all hear the story that is being manufactured; a beautiful little fantasy that his mind will accept and build around. However, his old memories are only suppressed, not removed: don’t talk about the rebellion as though he was a part of it, or your ritual, Scott.”

“Why not?”

“Because you will begin to break down the boundaries that I am building,” Stiles grinned at him. “And you will drive Mason mad. All the other test subjects who had their old lives revealed went insane and killed themselves. You might think you’re helping him, but you’re not, so don’t try it.”

“We won’t.” Liam promised, glaring at Scott. “We want this to work, right?”

“Uh, sure.” The former Alpha nodded, pointing at the pipes. “So that’s it?”

“Yes, you do not need to know the details.” Stiles turned away and gestured for his Guardians to bring Mason in. “Stay at the edge of the dais, out of the pool of light.” A single, high-powered beam shot down from somewhere in the ceiling, focusing on chair as the rest of the room was plunged into darkness. 

“There he is,” Liam nudged Scott, as Mason was wheeled in on a trolley, a single Guardian picking him up with ease and placing him on the chair. “This is for the best, he’ll be more like himself.”

“You’re sure?” Scott whispered, unaware that Stiles could still hear him. 

“It worked on Lydia, and she never knew the difference.”

“Or if she did, she kept her mouth shut.” Scott replied darkly. He joined Liam and Philip at the edge of the dais, watching as Stiles climbed the steps to stand in front of Mason. The chimera woke up, but seemed a lot more docile than Scott remembered, answering Stiles’ questions with one-word answers. The Emperor gestured and one of the tubes extended downwards, a syringe appearing on the end, about to pierce Mason’s skin and start the procedure. “Hmm,” Scott nodded, “I think it is better this way, it’s not the best way, but it’s better than death.”

“I do not need your approval, Scott.” The Emperor glared icily at him from the platform. “Mason may yet have value and I trust that the Guardian Prime will be able to extract it when he is returned to me. Now be silent!”

“Yes, Emperor.” Scott whispered, the word still unfamiliar in his mouth.

“Hmm,” Stiles waited for the needle to go in, his purple eyes blazing brightly. “Can you hear me, Mason?”

“Yes.”

“Good. Do you know where you are?”

“No, Emperor.”

“A terrible accident has happened, Mason, your body was broken, mangled in a factory.” Stiles whispered, raising a finger for the chimera next to him to increase the dosage. “Can you tell me about it?”

“I was in the production line, some kid had gotten stuck inside the thresher machine, I went in for him.” Mason spoke emotionlessly, his eyes fixed on Stiles’ violet orbs. “The line started, the machines activated, I couldn’t save the kid. I was dragged inside, hurt, broken. I don’t remember any more.”

“Very good.” Stiles nodded again, “You are a good chimera, aren’t you, Mason? Loyal, patriotic, devoted to the Empire? Or are you a traitor?”

“Never!” The first spark of emotion cracked into his voice and Mason shook his head viciously. “I’m not a traitor! I love the Empire! All glory to the divine Chimera Emperor!”

“Exactly.” He grinned down at where Scott was standing, repeating slowly. “All glory to the Chimera Emperor!”

“May He live forever!” Mason replied automatically.

“You are my chimera now, Mason, just as it was always intended.” Stiles leaned in to whisper in his ear. “And when we return to Victory City, you will serve faithfully in the Church of the Emperor in Ascendence, won’t you?”

“Yes, Emperor.”

“You will help humans and chimeras live together in unity and peace.” Stiles finished, “Commanders Strauss and Parrish will have much for you to do, and you will serve the Empire faithfully until the day you die, won’t you?”

“Glory!”

Stiles grinned and nodded for the other chimera to put Mason under again. He turned slowly, taking the stairs at his leisure, glancing at Scott and Liam, standing whereas Philip was already kneeling on the ground, head bowed. “You can lower yourselves now. As Alpha Chimera I can control each of your bodies, but never your thoughts. That is why Greenberg’s division is responsible for providing Chimera Enlightenment to guide all the loyal members of the Empire into their rightful place, onto their knees, honoring me!”

“Glory,” Scott repeated with Liam and Philip, although his lack of enthusiasm was noticed by Stiles. He wet his dry lips and made to speak but the Emperor swept out of the room without another word.

 

Connor gasped, suddenly awake. He hadn’t realized he had dropped off, the aching tiredness that lanced through him was back and the goop had reached ever higher, up to the top of his breastplate, near where it met the armpits. The Guardian Prime could feel his muscles tense and spasm, the black substance somehow able to chew through his armor plating and cut into the skin underneath. The other chimeras that had been with him were mostly gone now, but some were still shambling about, completely covered in black goo, no longer in control of their own movements. Even The Harvester itself had vanished, leaving behind only a sea of black sludge moving of its own accord across the floor and up onto his body.

“Fuck.” His throat was dry and hoarse, his strength focused on keeping the slime away from his neck and mouth. That was the point when the other chimeras became the monster’s puppets. He was pretty sure that the chimeras were dead by that stage and The Harvester controlled them directly like some sort of hive mind. But Connor didn’t fear death, even though he still had so much to achieve, so much work left unfinished. No, it was the thoughts that this monster would use him to hurt the Empire, betray the Emperor, and aid whatever evil plans it clearly had in motion in order to devour the world and everything in it that made Connor continue to resist, fighting grimly onwards. 

He swallowed again, looking over at his hands, still encased in their special metal gauntlets that his master had made for him. But even with his claws unleashed, Connor couldn’t reach the chains to cut himself free, never mind do what he had to in order to stop The Harvester from using his corpse as a puppet. _But would my death even stop the monster? Sure, I’d be dead, and I’d never have to face the Emperor with the knowledge of having been used to bring ruin upon the Empire. However, if the goop still climbs and covers me, I’ll never get that chance anyway. Hmm._

Connor sighed, reaching back with his fingers to touch the stone wall. He could feel the tug of his Elemental abilities, no longer nullified by The Harvester’s presence, strong enough bring the underground chamber down on them. It probably wouldn’t kill the corrupted chimeras, but it would make digging them out difficult. _And it would probably kill me. Once the goo reaches my neck, I will do what I must to protect the Emperor. For now, let’s see if The Harvester returns, I might be able to get more information out of it._ The Guardian Prime let his head slump back against the wall, hearing his armor buckle and crack, ribs on fire as the goop reached in through torn flesh and blood poured out. “Argh!” 

 

Liam gestured for Scott to follow him and Philip as Mason was carried off the Osprey and back inside the palace. They hadn’t lingered around the Fount of Glory, the Emperor telling them that they had to return to the capital. Scott had almost protested, but Liam managed to kick the chimera in the shins, preventing him from bringing the Emperor’s wrath down on them. Stiles hadn’t seemed to notice though, being unusually candid with the three of them, talking about Connor’s return. Liam had seen the faraway gaze that the Emperor used when speaking, even though he cut a strange sight: cloak of purple framing his other clothes of muted colors, and Growler sitting quietly on his lap. 

He smiled to himself, seeing the dog bound down the ramp and a Guardian being pulled along after him. But Liam sobered up and waved Scott back when Stiles stalked past, heading for the Imperial Gardens. Once he was gone, the Alpha nodded. “Ok, let’s head to our quarters, they’ll contact us when Mason wakes up.”

“Cool.” Scott lowered his voice so only they could hear him, a fearsome looking group of Faithful passing by, their bare chests emblazoned with the Emperor’s sigil. “So, you guys gonna finally tell me what the deal is with this Connor guy? Stiles…uh, the Emperor talks about him non-stop.”

“Fine,” Philip nodded, glaring at Scott when he used the Emperor’s real name. “We'll be home in another level, wait until then.”

“Ok.” Scott grinned, looking out the windows as they climbed higher. Whatever else might have happened, the palace had the best views in the city; he could see all the way to the horizon from almost any side, with Liam and Philip’s apartment looking out on the manicured lawns and sheltered pools at the south side of the complex. He eagerly followed them inside, the knot of tension sitting in his stomach unwinding, no longer feeling like he was under constant scrutiny by the chimeras outside. “This is such a cool place! Me and…well, we always said we were gonna share an apartment like this when we went to college.”

“You’d do well to let your past life go, Scott.” Philip offered him a bottle of water, standing next to Liam at the window. They could see the figure of the Emperor pacing restlessly around the gardens below them, purple cloak making him instantly stand out from everyone else, even if the gold-plated Guardians behind him hadn’t attract their eyes. He glanced Liam and shrugged. “So, the Guardian Prime…”

“That’s Connor’s title, right?”

“Yeah, he’s the leader of the Guardians,” Liam explained. “That makes him personally responsible for the Emperor’s security.”

“But he’s also the Emperor’s Prophet, the voice of the Overmind to the common people.” Philip added. “He runs the Church of the Emperor in Ascendence; you’ve seen it, it’s right outside the palace gates, super-ornate and always busy.”

“Yeah, sure, but those are just titles.” Scott looked between them. “What about _him?_ ”

“He’s a good person: kind, generous, protector of the weak, enforcer of justice,” Philip listed them off on his fingers. “Connor can be a bit stiff and formal at times, but that’s only because of how seriously he takes his role.”

“Plus, he’s always with the Emperor, like _always._ ” Liam said. “So, that means that we don’t really know him. I think he pisses Theo off though.”

“I imagine so.” Scott nodded. “Theo is jealous, always has been-”

“Yeah but the Guardian Prime is stronger than he is.” Philip grinned, “We’ve seen him fight; nearly unstoppable, and I heard from the twins that during the final battle against the Kitsunes and Nogitsunes, Connor tried to throw the evil fox leader off the mountaintop, and almost flung himself off too in order to get the job done! No hesitation, no fear, completely committed to his duty; one of the greatest chimeras that ever lived!”

“He sounds like a real hero.” Scott tried not to laugh as Liam glared at Philip. “Bit of a crush?”

“What? No!” The Legendary chimera scowled and shook his head, speaking to Liam. “You’re plenty brave for me! And hot, did I mention hot?!”

“You’re forgiven.” Liam muttered, flushing when Philip kissed him on the cheek, Scott turning away awkwardly. “But, um, yeah, that’s basically what we know about him, well other than the thing that everyone in this city probably knows by now: Connor went missing and the Emperor was furious.”

“Hang on, I think I saw him recently in one of Greenberg’s news reports.” Philip went over to his desktop and typed quickly into the search engine. “Yeah, c’mon, here he is.”

“Huh.” Scott watched the footage as Liam pointed the chimera out to him. “He looks very, um, stern.”

“Well, he’s watching for threats to the Emperor; that’s at the global victory parade a few months ago when we were celebrating the Empire’s supremacy.” Liam explained, gently hitting Philip’s shoulder to pause the video. “Ok, how about there, that’s a better image.”

“Yeah,” Scott replied slowly. “I think I can see why St-the Emperor likes him so much.”

“When he returns, you’ll probably get to know him.” Philip glanced back at Scott. “Theo and Corey tend to handle all the messy or grim aspects of the Empire: experiments, assassinations, intel, whereas Connor has really been responsible for getting people to like us and showing we’re here to do good.”

“You really believe that, huh?” The former Alpha held up his hands when they both looked at him, faces hard. “Sorry, force of habit, I just don’t-”

“Well, you better start, Scott.” Liam shook his head. “The Emperor brought you back for a reason, but the chimera war machine could just as easily wipe out the remaining werewolves as let you convert them. So, you need to start acting like us. He won’t waste the resources of a mind wipe on you.”

“He did for Mason.”

“That wasn’t for Mason.” Philip replied quickly, pointing at his boyfriend. “That was for Liam, the Emperor rewards those who serve Him, and punishes those who do not. I like you, Scott, and I like hanging out with you, and Mason too, once he recovers, so don’t screw it up.”

“I got the message.” Scott nodded, backing away towards the window, looking down to see Stiles at the end of the gravel path, appearing to stare at the long, hundred-foot pond in the center of the gardens. “I know he’s not the person I remember, but I’m still not sure that’s good or bad.”

 

Theo noticed Brett glancing at him and glared at the chimera. “What?”

“Nothing.” He averted his gaze, pointing at a sign in the distance, orange and red with white letters. “That’s the sign the Emperor saw in His vision, just before He transitioned underground. Fan out, it’s probably around here somewhere.”

“Assuming there is an entrance at all.” Theo muttered darkly, gesturing for Corey to come over to him. “I know Garrett’s not exactly a prisoner, but do you have to be so chummy with him?”

“Huh?” Corey looked at him. “What are you talking about?”

“I’m just saying to remember who you’re sleeping with!”

“I know that, Theo.” The younger chimera shot him a hurt look, as Garrett followed Nick’s directions to search the nearby junk heap. “He’s just being friendly, and I like how he’s actually paying attention to me. I thought we were going to use this trip to catch up; you’re always in the labs now, I miss you.”

“I’m sorry.” Theo apologised curtly, shaking his head. “I forgot that with Stiles…being otherwise engaged you’re left alone a lot.”

“I don’t need you to babysit me.” Corey muttered. “I just want you to talk to me, once Connor is back, Stiles will be himself again, and everything will be balanced.”

“You’re assuming he’s still alive?”

“You don’t trust Stiles’ vision?”

“No.” Theo answered after a moment of considering Corey’s neutral expression. “I don’t believe he’s a god, I don’t think he has visions, and I sure as hell don’t think he needs Connor when he has me!”

“This again.” Corey sighed. “Well, whatever, I’m sure we’ll find out soon enough.”

“Yes, we will.” Theo smirked, a cruel twist to his lips, and he followed the others into the scrap yard. The chimeras searched through piles of metal, Nick flying upwards to get an aerial view of the site, while Corey and Brett started from the middle and worked out. Theo watched Garrett carefully, following the Löwenmensch towards a large heap of rubber tubing. 

“Hey! Who the hell are you?!”

The angry shout came from his left and Theo whirled around, fangs and claws emerging as he saw the opportunity for finally spilling some blood. However, Brett got to the man first, and Theo snorted, hearing his polite enquiry get brushed away. “I know you’ve spent a long time with the werewolves, Brett, so I’ll let you off, but you,” The First Chimera pushed past him to grin evilly at the man in overalls. “You should be on your knees, worm! You are in the presence of chimeras!”

“Theo,” Corey began, but Garrett shook his head.

“Don’t.” The Löwenmensch muttered, “The Guardian Prime is here, has to be; everywhere around us for forty miles is depopulated. One man left here…he smells wrong.”

“Right,” Theo waved his claws under the man’s nose as Nick’s form ignited and Brett’s eyes glowed. The man seemed unfazed, and Theo struck rapidly, his claws raking along his face. For a moment nothing happened, no blood spurted out as the chimera expected, instead the flaps of skin hung unnaturally off the man’s face. Then black goop seeped out of the wounds, sealing them back together. “What the…” He made to attack again, but the man’s skin vanished, replaced by a gooey black substance that deflected Theo’s attacks. “Burn him!”

“Rawr!” The Dragon roared and extended his hands, a plume of fire enveloping the figure. It too had no effect and Nick snarled angrily, rushing forward to smash the creature’s face. “Wow.” He gaped as the head exploded in a shower of black gore and bone fragments. “Guess the head is the weak point.”

“Maybe only to physical damage?” Theo pondered, kneeling down to scoop up some of the black goo into a specimen jar, watching in fascination as it creeped away from the dead body. “Huh, it’s all going in one direction.”

“Maybe if we follow it, it’ll lead to Connor?” Corey suggested, looking around uncomfortably. He smiled appreciatively at Garrett when the Löwenmensch patted his shoulder. 

 

Brett breached the tunnel first, hidden under several ruined school buses and a pile of junk that Nick was able to melt after a few minutes of intense hellfire. He hopped down, feet immediately sinking into more black goop. But it wasn’t like the thicker goo that dripped down into the hole from the monster they had just killed; it let them pass with no more than a wet sucking noise each time they pulled their feet out to move forward. “We should fan out, search the area.” He suggested, seeing Theo nod and move left, Corey and Garrett taking the right side of the tunnel as it opened up into a large underground storage area, other tunnels leading off into the gloom. Their eyes all lit up, and Nick provided better illumination than a torch with his flaming body. “Ok, let’s go.”

They had barely made it into the room when more goo-covered monsters emerged from the black sea underfoot, pulling themselves upwards in an unnatural motion. “Fuck!” Nick cried out, dancing back as one of the monsters swiped at him with claws. “I think we found the chimeras!”

“Aim for the head!” Brett shouted, but then changed his mind. “Wait! One of them could be the Guardian Prime, we can’t kill him!”

“Then what do we do?” Nick glanced at him, punching one of the monsters in its chest, sending it staggering backwards for a moment, before it stood up and resumed its slow creep towards him. “Brett?”

 

Theo paused when he heard the sounds of battle behind him, but the First Chimera shrugged and continued on, looking into every dark corner. _Hmm, seems to have been used as some sort of cell or holding area._ He paused as a ragged breath caught his attention and Theo entered one of the vaulted chambers, redbrick pillars arching over his head. A grin puckered his lips when he saw the Guardian Prime chained to the wall, arms spread out, his armor completely covered in the black goo. _It’s some sort of conversion process? Interesting._

He stood in the doorway, watching as Connor rolled his head back, hope firing briefly in his eyes. “So, you _are_ alive. Stiles’ visions may have been accurate, but it’s a pity he’s not here to see them through himself. That’s right, he sent me.” The First Chimera let his claws spring out. “I’ve been wondering how to kill you for the entire flight over here, Connor, but now that I see how far the, err, corruption has gotten, maybe all I need to do is slit your throat!” 

He knelt beside the Guardian Prime, careful not to touch any of the black goo crawling over Connor’s body, and offered him a final smirk, their eyes connecting. Connor glared at him, “Well, aren’t you going to finish it, Theo?”

 

Brett rolled out of the way of one of the shambling goo-covered monsters, this looked more like a disjointed chicken than a terrifying chimera, his sharp hearing picking up the sound of two voices nearby. _“Well, aren’t you going to finish it, Theo?”_ He blinked and gestured furiously for the others to join him. “This way! I hear Connor!”

“Coming!” Nick roared, jumping up and gliding across the room to grab Corey and Garrett, lifting the chimeras out of reach of the monsters.

“No, just get out of here, I can manage!” Brett shouted back at him, seeing the line of goop-covered creatures standing between him and them. “Go!” The chimera hurried through the tunnel, turning around and sliding to a halt as he caught sight of Connor, his pulse ticking higher when the Guardian Prime looked at him. “Connor!”

“Huh?” Theo was crouching next to him, claws pressed against Connor’s neck. “Well, this is awkward.”

“Not as awkward as it’s about to be.” Brett squared off against him, seeing Theo rise. “The Emperor warned me, said you couldn’t be trusted. I didn’t know what He meant then, but I do now.”

“You’re still rising in the ranks, Brett.” Theo gestured at Connor. “This doesn’t have to be your sudden stop.”

“Fuck that, I have orders!”

“The ever-faithful chimeras, always running around and doing what Stiles tells them to; his perfect little soldiers. But not this time, no, no, no.” Theo waggled his fingers. “The Guardian Prime died in this hole, very tragic, but unless you want to join him forever,” He paused, smirking as he sniffed the air. “And it smells like you do, you’ll stand aside.”

Brett lowered himself into a fighting stance, claws raised. “No.”

“Brett!” Connor gasped at him, struggling weakly against the chains. “Run!”

“Rawr!” Theo launched himself forward, swiping a jagged line across Brett’s face, the other chimera managing to dodge back and deliver a savage kick to Theo’s knee, making him lose his balance and fall over. “Ugh!”

Brett backed up against the wall, eyes narrowed as he flicked the blood from his cheek. “Back off, First Chimera!”

“I am sick and tired of everyone telling me what to do!” Theo roared and made to charge into the other chimera, but a hand grabbed his arm and pulled him backwards sharply. “Ah!”

“Stand down, First Chimera, or I will put you down!” Nick bellowed at him, his body shrouded in flames. “The Emperor’s divine will cannot be challenged: to do so is heresy!” He directed a stream of fire at Connor's chains, the audible pinging of the metal sounding the Guardian Prime’s release. “Brett, grab him, I’ve got the First Chimera.”

 

Corey stared at them as they emerged from the tunnels; Brett’s blood-splattered face, Nick's torso still blazing brightly, Theo sent sprawling as the Dragon threw him out of the hole, and finally Connor was dragged up, the Guardian Prime’s armor covered in black goo. “Shit! Is he dead?”

“Wait,” Connor rumbled, rolling onto his side and reaching out to touch the ground. There was a sudden crash of rubble and stone, dust clouds spiralling out of the entrance, the monsters trying to pursue them trapped under the collapsed earth. “Done...”

“Ok, Garrett, call the evac!” Brett shouted out, pulling off his jacket and placing it under Connor’s head. He slipped out a slim silver case and gestured for Corey to join him. “You know how this works, right?”

“That’s the Green Serum!” Corey nodded, pointing at the metal syringe in the padded foam. “Use that to inject it into his neck, it can heal anything, maybe even…this.” He stared at the black goo, recoiling as it moved with a life of its own, raising up into waves to lap up the ruined expanse of Connor’s breastplate.

“No!” Theo shouted, trying to stand, but Nick glared at him, wings outstretched and body on fire. “You can’t use that on him! I won’t allow it!”

“What happened down there?” Corey looked over his shoulder when Theo uttered a cry of pain, waving his burnt hand in the air. “Did Theo try and do something?”

“He tried to murder him.” Brett gestured at Connor, transferring the contents of the vial into the syringe. “If I hadn’t…”

“Fuck.” Corey muttered. _Stiles might actually kill Theo this time. Idiot._ “Connor, can you hear me?” There was no response when he patted the Guardian Prime’s cheeks. “Connor?! Hmm, better inject him now.”

Connor arched upwards as the dose was delivered, his eyes flicking open and the black goo cascaded off his armor as though it had been boiled, steaming around him. “Ugh…”

“It’s ok, we’re here.” Brett grabbed his waving hand, grimacing as he looked at the armor, large chunks of it eaten away, raw flesh and the pearly white of bone visible the lower he went. “Oh…fuck!”

“What-” Corey glanced down and then immediately wished he hadn’t, feeling his stomach lurch. He patted Connor’s shoulder affectionately, trying to remain upbeat. “Why do you always get hurt the most?!”

“Osprey inbound!” Garrett called out, pointing at the grey shape flying rapidly towards them. “I’ll help you with him.”

“The Emperor will deal with you.” Nick glared at Theo as the Osprey hovered overhead. “Perhaps the Guardian Prime can give some insight into what happened in there; a way to justify this.”

“Nothing happened.” Theo stood up, his expression hard. “I am the First Chimera, equal only to the Emperor, you will say nothing, because there is nothing to say. Unlike the Guardians, you chimeras serve _me_ as well, understand?”

“Yes, First Chimera.” Nick didn’t hide his resentment, but he gave Theo a short bow.

“Good, let’s get out of here.”

 

Stiles watched as the chimeras strapped Peter Hale into the chair, the werewolf grimacing as they tightened the belts across his chest and arms. The Emperor moved out of the doorway and into the surgery proper, smirking when Peter looked at him. “The last holdout?”

“Emperor, a pleasure as always.” The slight sneer at the edge of his voice was ignored, and Stiles moved closer.

“When Theo told me that you wanted to become a chimera, well, I was surprised.” He laughed coldly. “You who always put such stock in being a pure werewolf.”

“Times change, Emperor.” The werewolf shrugged as best he could. “Every other Archon is a chimera, all of my staff are chimeras, not to mention, I did just watch Jackson rip a car in half with his _claws._ Can’t blame me for wanting in on that action.”

“That’s a good point,” Stiles conceded, spreading his arms wide. “All of the werewolves are finally seeing the real power of the Chimera Empire! When you can’t beat us, you might as well join us. But I’m not quite sure what abilities we’ll give to you. Theo isn’t here, but my own scientists are just as effective.”

“I’m tingling with excitement.” Peter drawled at him. “What are my options? What did you give the others?”

“Jackson has the werebear strength, very useful, and enhanced durability.” Stiles smirked. “I toyed with giving him those Kanima abilities back, but he’s not really a fighter anymore; it’s my armies that quelled the unrest in his region. As for Liam, he’s already an Alpha werewolf, took him a while to kill his first one, but once he got the taste, he’s been very successful at following orders. The rage was always a problem, but we evened that out by giving him the ability to discharge electricity from his body; it basically forms a ring around him, not unlike an electric eel. He can’t generate it, of course, but it could come in handy with my own powers.” Stiles let a crackle of lightning play out across his fingertips. “He’ll be a useful amplifier!”

“Won’t that hurt?”

“He’s immune now; a reward for all his loyal years of service!” The Emperor rounded the end of the surgical chair and ran his hands over the different vials of essence. “Then there’s Mason; a standard chimera werewolf, nothing fancy, just enough to bring him under my control when the moment was right, and to fool everyone else.”

“You always were a cunning one.” Peter nodded. “Part of the reason I joined you when you offered back in Beacon Hills. I knew you’d win.”

“And why you never rebelled?” Stiles grinned. “I’m sure you thought about it, but you’re not stupid, not letting something like me killing Malia get you all riled up. Right?” He watched the werewolf’s face carefully as the words sunk in, his lips twitching when Peter’s eyes flicked red for a few seconds until he regained control. “Ah, you didn’t know that? Curious.”

“Did she…suffer?”

“No.” The Emperor shook his head. “A quick bolt of lightning and that was it. A pity, Malia could have joined us, she could have been a great chimera, but her loyalty to Scott was unshakable. It doesn’t matter now, right, you’re ready to give up all your control for the glory of my Empire?”

The werewolf locked eyes with him before nodding once. “Yes.”

“When you become a chimera, I will have total control over your body, your mind still belongs to you, of course.” Stiles shrugged. “I don’t think you’ve swallowed my propaganda quite enough to actually _believe_ in the vision I have for this world. But that’s alright, you’ll come around, just like Scott.”

“I heard you returned him,” Peter nodded. “Conquer of Death Itself? Isn’t that what they call you now?”

“Something like that, sure.” The Emperor dismissed it with a wave. “Scott has a purpose to serve; uniting the werewolf packs and bringing them to me, removing the last rebels with his True Alpha legend, and finally I will be unopposed! Of course, he’s nether True nor an Alpha anymore, that particular trait didn’t survive his trip back to the world of the living.”

“But something else did?”

“A werewolf chimera is fine, but they need to take a lot of Alpha power to be really strong on their own, or some unique enhancements to be worthy of standing beside me,” Stiles explained, thinking of Theo and Connor. “However, I needed Scott up and running as soon as possible; a little were-turtle essence for increased physical armor here, a little were-shark essence for replacement teeth there, and finally, just a touch of the original werewolf strain that all Dread Doctor chimeras come from.”

“Quite the mixture,” Peter muttered, “Planning on giving me something so…eclectic?” 

“Think more Kanima, and less werewolf.” Stiles grinned at him, “A nice poisonous barb to cause your enemies a painful death, and I’ll add in a little extra strength, for not being difficult over the Malia thing!”

“You are…ever generous, Emperor.”

“Well, you could have a use down the road, Peter.” The Emperor turned away from him. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, it’s time to see if Scott is ready to prove that he is truly committed to the Chimera Empire.” 

“How is he going to do that?” The werewolf asked as the scientists lowered him into a horizontal position. 

“Ah,” Stiles grinned wolfishly. “The same way they have all: by bloodying their claws!”

 

“Uh oh.” Liam muttered, looking around him as the hall filled up. The Emperor’s throne was still empty, but the Guardians were flanking the prisoner and he glanced nervously over to where Scott was standing on his own. “This is not good.”

“What’s wrong?” Philip nudged him. “Liam?”

“That’s the terrorist Parrish arrested a few days ago, right?”

“Yeah, so?”

“So, the Emperor is going to have him executed.” Liam nodded at Scott across from them. “And probably gonna ask _him_ to do it.”

“That’s a big deal?” His boyfriend frowned. “It’s the law.”

“Yeah, but Scott’s one rule was never to take a life, and now the Emperor is going to make him.” The chimera tapped his feet nervously. “There’s the entire Imperial Court here; Generals and Archons, Greenberg is filming it, the hall is full, and there’s probably a few thousand people in the plaza outside.”

“There always is when the Court is in session, hoping to see a glimpse of the Emperor Himself.”

“Yeah, but, Philip,” Liam’s scent stung with anxiety. “Scott doesn’t really consider himself a chimera, he thinks of the Emperor’s orders as suggestions, still thinks his best friend is in there somewhere.”

“So, if he refuses to execute the prisoner…”

“Exactly.” Liam groaned. “No way the Emperor will accept such an open act of rebellion, and Scott is too stubborn to realize the danger he’s in.”

“I see the problem,” Philip started to speak, but just then, the Chimera Emperor entered, sweeping across the dais with the Ancient chimeras at his side. “Well, guess we’re about to find out if your old Alpha has it in him.”

“Great.” Liam muttered, standing up as Stiles paused in front of the throne.

 

“Glory to the Chimera Empire!” Stiles called out, smiling as the echoing shout rumbled from the back of the hall to the front.

“Glory!”

“The Guardian Prime may still be missing,” He began, eyes sweeping the room. “But I am confident that he will return to us soon, for my finest chimeras are searching for him at this very moment, guided by my divine vision!” Stiles waited until the excited whispers subsided and continued his address. “Our great Empire continues to grow and expand; cities rebuilt, and the engines of industry and commerce restarted, our glory will have no bounds! And all will know of our might, our fortitude, and our justice!” He finished with a snarl, glaring at the prisoner. Stiles sat down and gestured for his subjects to do the same. “What are the charges, Commander Parrish?”

“Nathan Pierce stands charged with the crimes of high treason, deception, and actively plotting to attack a shopping mall in the commerce district of Victory City.” Parrish pointed at the dark-haired young man who was sneering at Stiles. “He does not dispute these charges and has admitted his guilt, Emperor.”

“Well that spares me the trouble of a trial.” Stiles grinned, “If he had been successful, how many would have died?”

“Up to a hundred, human and chimeras, Emperor.” The Hellhound consulted his notes, adding. “The bombs were made, probably not by him, but he certainly had the intent to use them.”

“Good enough for me.” The Chimera Emperor steepled his fingers, nodding at Nathan. “Any final words, traitor?”

“I reject your authority and your sentence!” He shouted out, struggling against the thick chains that kept him kneeling on the floor. “You can kill me, but you’ll never kill the heart of the resistance!” 

“Yes, well,” Stiles smirked as the cry roused no reaction from the chimeras and loyalists filling the hall. “That fighting spirit isn’t going to help you now. Under Imperial Statute Nine-Forty-Seven, as Supreme Ruler of Earth and the Chimera Emperor, I find you guilty of all charges and sentence you to death.” He took a breath, excitement thrumming through his chest. “Scott? Step forward.”

“Uh, Emperor?” The chimera swallowed nervously, moving into the center of the lowest step on the dais. “What is it?”

“You will carry out this execution.” The Chimera Emperor grinned at him, gesturing at Nathan. “That is a direct command, kill him.” _But not one I will force you to obey, it must be your choice, Scott, you must take a life to truly be a chimera. This is an easy choice, the man is a terrorist, he would have killed hundreds, surely it is justifiable?_

Scott moistened his lips, glancing at Nathan and then back at Stiles. “I…”

“C’mon, Scott, do it!” Stiles could hear Liam’s muttered plea and he nodded at the chimera in front of him.

“Well?”

“This isn’t justice.” Scott shook his head, “I’m sure he did some bad things, but you can’t just-”

“Scott!” Liam hissed at him, cheeks burning as the chimeras and loyalists around him and Philip stared. “Now is not the time for this!”

“Your friend is quite right, Scott.” Stiles let a ribbon of electricity crackle up his hand. “But I’ll make it simple for you; you can kill Nathan and let him have a quick death, or I will take control of your limbs and make you watch while we torture him for hours, make him endure unimaginable pain and suffering, as you slice and cut through every muscle and tendon, as his organs slip onto the marble beneath you, his eyeballs plucked from his sockets on tips of your claws, his screams haunting your sleep for eternity, until he is literally begging you for death, and then, finally, you will snuff out his life because you will realize that it was the most humane thing to do in the first place.” Scott was staring at him like he was a stranger and the Chimera Emperor laughed shortly. “Did you think my bringing you back was to return my long lost best friend to me? Hardly, I have an Empire to rule! You are but a small cog in the industry of my ambition. Now take his life or suffer along with him.”

“As you command, Emperor.” Scott muttered emotionlessly, his claws springing out, tears falling down his cheeks. The chimera turned away from Stiles and walked up to Nathan, grimacing when the human spat at him.

“Aww, the good little lapdog following his master’s orders!”

“I’m sorry,” Scott looked at him, raising his claws to press against Nathan’s neck. “At least it’ll be over quickly for you.”

“I’m getting old here, Scott!” Stiles called out, grinning widely when the chimera’s arm moved suddenly, a choking gurgle and the spray of blood on the marble floor.

“Ugh.” Scott stepped back, his hands shaking, staring at the crimson flood that poured from the jagged wound, Nathan falling to the ground, twitching, his eyes wide and staring at him. He felt the room spin around, stumbling backwards until his shins hit the edge of the dais and Scott sat down suddenly. 

“Very good, Scott.” The Chimera Emperor stood, walking slowly down the steps, the Imperial Court dispersing after the execution. He knelt down next to Scott, whispering in his ear, “The first one is always the hardest, just like Donovan was. In the heat of battle, you won’t even realize it until after, just how many you’ve killed. Welcome to the Chimera Empire, brother.” Stiles got up, moving over to the spilled blood, reaching down to draw the Imperial symbol; a circle and three lines beneath it, before standing and sweeping out of the hall.

 

“Scott!” Liam rushed over to him as Philip walked more slowly behind him. “Are you ok?”

“I…I can’t believe I did that,” He muttered, staring at Nathan’s unmoving body lying in a pool of blood. “It was easy, I just pressed my claws to his neck and it all…”

“I know, Scott.” Liam placed a hand on his shoulder. “It’s going to sink in in a few minutes. I’m here for you, but I’m glad you chose to do it. The Emperor trusts you now.”

“Yeah, I…” Scott swallowed hard, his entire body shaking uncontrollably. He clutched Liam’s arm, dragging the other chimera down beside him, smearing blood along his pullover. “My eyes! Are my eyes-”

“Yellow.” Liam replied calmly. “You’re a chimera; they don’t change. Well, purple if the Emperor is mimicking or controlling you, and red if you steal the spark from another werewolf Alpha; but you need special talons for that. Just…we’ll stay here for a little bit, ok?”

“Then you can take a shower, and we’ll see if Mason is awake.” Philip added, crouching on Scott’s other side. “He was right though; it does get easier, and belief in the Empire makes it easier.”

“I…I don’t know.”

 

Stiles stood on the helipad in a strange reflection of the day before. Growler was next to him, the lead wrapped around his hand absently, the puppy asleep on his foot. He could see the Osprey coming in low and fast, feeling his chimeras’ presence on board. _An hour since the execution, and right at the moment of Nathan’s death, I felt him: Connor, back from the dead! Glory does demand sacrifice! If I had known he’d return to me from the spilling of blood, I would have culled a thousand of them!_ The Chimera Emperor smirked cruelly to himself, laughing at his own joke. He glanced to one side and handed the lead to the Guardian. “Hold this until Corey comes for him.”

“Yes, master.”

He frowned, sensing something was wrong when the Osprey failed to slow down, the ramp open and dropping fast. Stiles pushed through the Guardians, ignoring the danger of the backdraft to see Nick and Brett standing by to push Connor out on a stretcher. The aircraft landed with a jolt and Stiles rushed up the ramp, feeling his blood run cold at the sight of Connor’s injuries. “You found him?”

“Emperor!” Brett bowed quickly, letting the Guardians pull Connor out of the Osprey. “I used the Serum, but it only got rid of the goo! His wounds are…the First Chimera…”

“Later,” Stiles barked, dismissing him with an irritated wave, following Connor down the ramp. “Can you hear me, my chimera?”

“The Harvester…” The Guardian Prime muttered, gripping Stiles’ wrist tight. “Beware…The Harvester…”

“Take him to the medical center on this floor, and call for the rest of the Guardians, we need the Unity ability!” Stiles shouted out, not seeing Theo watching him from the top of the ramp, eyes hooded and expression sullen. “Move it, chimeras!”

 

The Harvester slithered into the collapsed chamber, ignoring the falling masonry around it, the band of half-crushed Corrupted following behind. A spindly limb extended from the mass that surrounded the shapeless torso and stalk-like hands reached out to search among the rolling black mist. “Interessssting!” It picked up a fragment of Connor’s armor, seeming to study the chunk for a moment, before the gaping maw opened and The Harvester devoured the fragment. It paused a moment longer, and then turned, shuffling away. “Come children…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Things felt a little stagnant between Stiles and Theo, this should shake them up a bit. The MCD tag is back since I've decided who's living and who won't be at the end of this story, but the deaths could happen at any time!


	3. Duty and Desire

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Please note that the following chapter contains a graphic depiction of Theo’s blood kink expressed in a sexual context which some readers may find disturbing. It occurs in the middle to end of the chapter.**

“Hurry up!” Stiles roared at the chimeras carrying Connor inside, the Guardian Prime still held his wrist, though his grip was weakening, and the Emperor could feel the chimera’s pulse slowing. “Move!” 

Theo let Nick and Brett run past him, watching with cool detachment as they rushed to hold the doors open and let the group through. He glanced at Corey, the younger chimera ignoring Growler’s playful yips nearby and instead chewing nervously on his fingernails. “What’s wrong?”

“You can feel his fear, right?”

“Oh, yeah.” Theo shrugged, gesturing for Strauss’ guards to come and take Garrett back to his rooms. “Every chimera in the city must be able to feel that; the unease is making my skin itch.”

“I’ll talk to you later,” Corey said to Garrett, reaching out to grip his forearm, the Löwenmensch nodding and following Commander Strauss towards the palace. He turned back to Theo, frowning when the older chimera made to go after Stiles. “Hey, wait!”

“What? Let’s go, Stiles will need us when Connor dies.”

“You don’t have to sound so happy about it.” Corey muttered, but let Theo lead the way inside the heliport, following the stream of medical personnel and Guardians to a small atrium at the other end of the building. The glass walls of the triage center were frosted and Theo growled irritably, making to go inside, but Corey shook his head and pulled him away. “Come on.”

“Why?” 

“I need to talk to you.” They walked through an open door and across the gantry onto a smaller helipad. “And we should let Stiles concentrate; those aren’t wounds that many of us would be getting up from, Theo.”

“I know.” He smirked, “I saw them too.”

“What happened?”

“What do you mean?”

“I know something happened down in the tunnels, Theo.” Corey folded his arms across his chest. “Nick dropped me and Garrett on the surface, and then went immediately back inside, as though he was expecting more than just a trap from…whatever they were.”

“The Dragon has wings, he could fly us out of there.” Theo explained, avoiding looking at his eyes. “Makes sense.”

“There’s something you’re not telling me.”

“Nothing happened, Corey.” The First Chimera glanced at him. “And even if something did happen, the Guardian Prime looked half-dead anyway, did he really have to suffer? No…but like I said, nothing like that happened.”

Corey glared at him, shaking his head slowly. “I don’t believe you, you’re not even trying to lie.”

“Hmm.” Theo walked across the helipad, around the aircraft sitting in the center, and stopped at the edge of the platform, looking at the city stretched out before them, the sun setting in a blaze of fire, the storm above them finally banished. “The Emperor’s fury is spent, it seems.”

“He’s probably concentrating on something else.” Corey replied, coming to stand next to him. “I know you don’t want to hear it, Theo, but the Empire needs the Guardian Prime.” 

“You’re right, I don’t want to hear it! This my Empire too,” Theo growled. “First Chimera doesn’t just mean that I was the first successful chimera, it means _I’m_ the first among them all, no one comes above me except Stiles! Not you,” He ignored Corey as the younger chimera rolled his eyes, “Not Connor. No one.”

“He isn’t in front of you, Theo.” Corey slipped his hand into Theo’s but the First Chimera pulled away moodily. “I don’t know why you always get like this; you think it doesn’t bug me that Stiles cares more about Connor than he does about us? Of course it does! But I’m smart enough to know that it doesn’t matter what I want from him, I take what I get because he’s the Emperor, because he’s the Overmind.”

“Corey-”

“And it doesn’t matter what you want, Theo, Stiles decides what to give you, and what to take away.” The younger chimera’s expression darkened further. “You can’t fight him any more than Scott could, or Kira, or hell, even Garrett. They don’t call him _Supreme Ruler_ because it’s fancy title, it’s because we either obey or we die!”

“Feel better?” Theo asked in the silence that followed. Corey huffed and shook his head. “I gave Stiles everything, not just the chimeras, not just the world, but I gave him something I’ve never given anyone else but you and him.”

“Your heart?”

“It’s not mine.” He smirked at his own joke, sobering up a moment later. “I gave him my trust. And all he really cares about anymore is Connor. Much like the Emperor, I don’t suffer rivals.”

“They’re brothers!” Corey hissed at him, keeping his voice low. “Their relationship is special, it always has been!”

“Not always.” Theo shook his head. “Connor was just a Guardian when I created him, werewolf essence and the claws of the True Alpha, were-bear essence to enhance his strength and durability. That was enough for the rest of them, but not for Connor. Stiles kept changing and enhancing his abilities: freakishly fast healing, almost impossible to kill no matter what you throw at him, terrakinetic abilities that we’ve barely seen, and it wouldn’t surprise me if Stiles had more augments planned.”

“You really are jealous.” He held up a hand and continued speaking even as Theo tried to interrupt. “No, I mean, like jealous Stiles didn’t do those things to you, didn’t turn _you_ into the ultimate chimera.”

“I almost had my chance to right that wrong.” Theo smirked at his claws as pulsing blue talons covered the points, speaking to his hands. “Stiles wouldn’t need Connor anymore, he wouldn’t need anyone but me…” 

 

“Relax! Connor, relax!” Stiles glared at him as the Guardian Prime continued to speak, the words bubbling from his mouth in a constant stream, interrupted only by gurgling as more blood aspirated from him. “Fuck, why aren’t you listening to me?”

“The Harvester, The Harvester comes, we must, prepare, must prepare, the…consume the world, the Corrupted, Harvester, gah!”

“Enough.” Stiles growled and grabbed Connor’s head firmly, stopping him from moving around. The Chimera Emperor nodded at the other Guardians and watched as they each placed their hands onto Connor’s body, his armor stripped away, the trolley he was lying on already slick with blood. “C’mon!” Stiles muttered, feeling his brother’s life slipping away. “I’m not losing you! Concentrate, Guardians!”

They bowed their heads, and the air began to hum with power, Stiles feeling the energy rush around him as he mimicked their Unity ability, channelling the energy into Connor’s body to activate his own advanced healing system. A sheen of sweat broke out over the Guardian Prime’s torso, at least on the portions of skin that weren’t horrifically stripped away to reveal wet, red muscle and the unnerving gleam of polished bone. _More._ Stiles gripped his face a little tighter, when Connor began to shake and tremble, the Emperor feeling his stomach clench queasily as the visible organs were encased in flesh again and the Guardian Prime’s skin was restored back to its flawless perfection, even the wounds along his arms and hands vanishing. “Yes…” Stiles grunted, releasing his grip and slumping down, resting his forehead on Connor’s bare shoulder. 

“Master?”

“Thank you,” Stiles nodded at the Guardian who helped him stand, feeling his strength recovering at the same time Connor’s eyes flickered open, briefly red before turning purple. “Wait outside.”

“No.” His voice was rough and hard, but Connor shook his head slightly. “You must all remain.”

“Very well.” The Emperor dismissed them back to the door and walked around to stand in Connor’s field of view. “I’m so happy you’re alive!”

“Thank You, master.”

“You need to rest,” Stiles smiled, his hand caressing Connor’s forearm and trailing down to slip into his palm. “We can talk another time.”

“No, master.” Connor’s grip tightened around his fingers, his eyes locked onto Stiles. “We must talk now, I do not know if I have become one of them.”

“One of what?”

“They are the Corrupted, taken by The Harvester to infiltrate and destroy our glorious Empire.” He whispered, voice still weak. “The Harvester converts anything it touches; humans, chimeras, even animals to serve as its eyes and ears, black goo covers them, and they become its slaves, no mind, no consciousness, just servitude.”

“Rest, Connor.” Stiles pushed him back against the gurney as the chimera tried to rise, his skin flushed to the touch. “There’ll be time later-”

“It cannot wait!” The Guardian Prime glared at him, teeth gritted in pain until Stiles shook his head and the sensations vanished. “Thank You, Emperor. The Harvester means to devour the world, I have seen it. Nothing will be left but a barren husk; it cannot be reasoned with, it cannot be swayed.”

“Then we will kill it.” Stiles grinned at him. “We will destroy it as we have we have destroyed every other threat to the Chimera Empire before!”

“I do not know if that will work, master.”

“We’ll find a way, Connor, we always do.” Stiles released his hand, pressing the Guardian Prime back on the trolley, and pulling a blanket up to his waist. “Rest now, I’ll return once I’ve debriefed the strike team. Is there anything else I need to know?”

“No, Emperor, there is nothing else that is important.” Connor replied after a moment, stiffening as Stiles leaned in and kissed his forehead. “Um…”

“Get better soon, my chimera.” The Emperor whispered, his face still close to Connor’s. “I’m not losing you again.” He straightened up and caressed the chimera’s cheek affectionately before removing his hand and nodding at the Guardians. “A few of you remain here.”

“Claws out, Guardians.” Connor muttered, and a moment later Stiles nodded. “You must strike if I show any signs of corruption.”

“Hmm.” Stiles frowned, looking back at him. “Only if he’s violent.”

“As You Command, Emperor!” 

Stiles opened the door of the medical clinic, unsurprised to see the five Ancient chimeras waiting outside. He smiled and stepped to one side. “You may enter.” The chimeras nodded silently at him, and walked inside the surgery, gathering around Connor. Stiles watched as they knelt as one, animal heads bowed towards the chimera. _They must be able to sense the presence of the Overmind DNA in him, is it possible that Connor could control other chimeras? I should check with Marric, see if he has dug up any more interesting discoveries in Ka’narack._ The Emperor nodded to himself, and turned abruptly away, going to find Theo and Corey, Nick and Brett falling into step seamlessly behind him. 

 

_Here?_

_Here._ Josh replied to his brother’s thought as it filtered across the shared connection of their merged form, his wings slowing as they dropped through the cool night air. The stars were just coming out above them, the moon a thin sliver in the inky purple sky. The chimera landed softly in the center of the unlit town, the buildings looking just as they had earlier in the day, even as shadows pooled around them. The street was deserted, and Josh grimaced as Jason pulled away from him, their merged form splitting and both chimeras gasping as they stepped apart, the sudden pressure and pain draining away quickly. Josh pointed towards the diner. “This way.”

“We should have brought clothes, bro.” Jason complained, one hand over his genitals as he encased his feet in ice to protect them from the hardness of the tarmac. His twin didn’t respond, and he sighed, following Josh over. “It wasn’t your fault, we’ve been over this, the kid came from nowhere, he was holding a gun.”

“I don’t know that it was a boy.” Josh muttered, gesturing for him to come. “And it doesn’t seem to matter, the kid is just where I left them.”

“Yeah.” Jason nodded, glancing at the gun and the battered car behind the body. “What do you wanna do?”

“We should tell someone, right?”

“It’s just a human.”

“Jason!” Josh glared at him. “That’s someone’s kid! I didn’t mean it, but there has to be something-”

“You were under attack, he, she, they, whatever!” Jason shouted back, his voice breaking the stillness of the abandoned town. “They shot you, you reacted, it’s what we’re trained to do, hell, it’s what chimeras are for. If you want to do something, Josh, we can bury the body; doesn’t look like anyone else is out here to do that.”

“And we just bury the secret too?”

“Yeah, in case you haven’t noticed, there’s no one left who cares what happens to them.” He shrugged, looking around for a suitable spot to start digging. “The Emperor plans to turn all the remaining humans into chimeras anyway, it might take hundreds of years, but He’ll do it. And we’ll be there to witness it, as long as you can keep quiet about this.”

“I…I suppose you’re right.” Josh replied after a moment. “If someone cared, they would have been here by now. The least we can do is bury him, and I don’t know, maybe I can find some way to help the rest of the humans in Victory City.”

“Well, yeah, that might be a good idea.” His brother nodded, pointing at a patch of ground in a nearby back garden. “Find something to wrap the body in and I’ll dig out the grave.”

“Ok.”

The Elemental chimera extended his arms and let the flow of frost creep over his body and down towards his hands, encasing them in shovels of hardened ice. Jason knelt down and started moving the earth with ease, eying the pile of painted rocks arranged along the edge of the lawn and garden. 

“Ok, this will do.” Josh muttered, scanning the bedroom of the house he had broken the door of to get into. He grabbed the bedspread and dragged it out of the room, returning to where the body was. The chimera felt tears prick his eyes again as he transferred the small bundle into the bedspread and rolled it up, whispering, “I’m sorry, I’m sorry.”

Jason had the grave dug out and was piling the colored stones from the lawn’s border into a small cairn at the top of the hole when Josh rounded the corner and placed the body inside. “Good.”

“Should we say something?”

“Um, ok.” Jason, pushed the earth back over the dead child, and stood up, glancing at his brother. “You want me to do it?”

“Yeah.”

“Ok, um, all praise and glory to the Alpha Chimera, divine Chimera Emperor and ruler of the world, shine Your benevolent light down on us and take this child, um…”

“To a place of eternal peace?” Josh offered when Jason ran out of words.

“Yeah, that, and, um, grant forgiveness to Your ever-loyal chimera who acted only as his instincts taught him.”

“Jason!” Josh sighed but joined his twin in the final phrase. “Glory to You, Chimera Emperor!”

“Let’s get out of here.” Jason said after a moment of silence had passed. He held out his hand to his brother, letting the ice around his body melt and fall away. Josh looked at the grave for a few seconds longer before he nodded and clasped Jason’s arm. There was an unpleasant squelch as the twins merged into one, larger chimera, their perfect form quickly wreathed in ice and wind, transparent wings extending and propelling them into the air.

 _We should tell Nick._ Jason thought, angling them towards the palace.

_Is that a good idea?_

_Trust me, he’ll understand,_ He sent the thought back across their connection as Josh sounded reluctant. _If nothing else, he can offer you a shoulder to cry on._

 _Well, I guess so._

_And a dick to suck on!_

_Jason!_

 

Stiles nodded along as he heard Nick and Brett give their report, listening with particular interest as they described the encounter with the Corrupted. “So, the head is the weak point?”

“And the only weak point, yes, Emperor.” 

“All of the chimeras except for Connor were taken like this?”

“We believe so,” Brett replied, glancing at Garrett and Corey as they sat across from him and Nick, while Theo was lounging in a chair at the other end of the table next to the Alpha Chimera. “But they were covered in some sort of black goop, we couldn’t tell who was who. Regardless, we managed to find the Guardian Prime and extracted him.”

“Good.” Stiles frowned at him, sensing there was something else. “Then what happened?”

“The, um,” Brett looked at Theo, but the First Chimera simply smirked. He cleared his throat, continuing. “The Dragon returned for us-”

“Us?”

“Me, the First Chimera, and Con-the Guardian Prime. We managed to get out of the tunnels to where the others were waiting, and then the Guardian Prime collapsed the entrance.” Brett finished. “I don’t know if that destroyed them or just slowed them enough for our escape.”

“You administered the serum?” Stiles asked, glancing at Theo for his reaction, lips twitching when his boyfriend’s expression soured. “What happened next?”

“Yes, Emperor, the serum was given to him, he was covered in goop, like the others, though only up to here.” Brett pointed at his collarbones. “The Green Serum seemed to destroy the goo.”

“The black goop started to burn,” Corey said, shuddering. “But it must have been able to eat into Connor’s armor and start on his body. Those other…the Corrupted, they were probably turned quickly, but Connor held out for longer.”

“Of course he did.” The Emperor smiled, pride filtering through his scent. “My chimera is practically invulnerable.” 

“Yes, Emperor.” Brett and Nick murmured as Corey looked at the table, and Garrett remained tactfully silent. Only Theo held Stiles’ gaze, his smirk returning.

“So, is there anything else you want to tell me?” Stiles glanced around the room, smiling grimly. “The Alpha Chimera has many powers, but this is one that I have honed through years of supernatural mysteries, maybe it’s mistrust, or maybe it’s instinct, but I know when someone is lying to me, especially a chimera.” He looked directly at Theo, a silent battle of wills, before Stiles growled, and turned to Brett. “As Chimera Emperor, I command you to tell me everything.”

“Yes, Emperor.”

“Brett!” Theo called out warningly.

“The Emperor is above all of us, First Chimera.” Nick replied for him. “It is heretical to disobey a direct command.”

“As if you could anyway,” Theo muttered, settling back into the chair. “But bundle it up into a religion, and suddenly it’s like you have a choice!”

“Silence.” Stiles’ eyes flashed purple for a moment, nodding at Brett. “Speak.”

“I did not find the Guardian Prime, Emperor, the First Chimera did. His claws were bared, held to the Guardian Prime’s neck, I even heard him tell the First Chimera to end it.” Brett swallowed hard as he watched sparks of electricity ripple on the air around the Emperor’s frame. “When I confronted him, the First Chimera threatened to kill me too in order to cover up his crimes. Thankfully, Nick arrived and managed to, um, defuse the situation.”

“Hmm.” Stiles glanced at Nick. “Is this true?”

“Yes, Emperor, I swear it.”

“Corey? Garrett?”

“I didn’t see it, Emperor.” Garrett whispered, “But there was a lot of tension, and the First Chimera objected to using the Green Serum on the Guardian Prime.”

“Corey?”

The younger chimera closed his eyes, fingers tapping noiselessly on the table. After a moment, he took a deep breath and opened them, glancing at Stiles. “It’s true, what Garrett said. Um, Theo never-”

“It’s alright, Corey.” Theo finally spoke, gesturing vaguely at Stiles. “They speak the truth, but Connor’s alive, right? You managed to save him?”

“I did.”

“So, what’s the big deal? I tried, I failed, big whoop.” 

“I warned you, Theo,” Stiles spoke quietly, glaring at him. “I gave you very clear instructions and told you exactly what would happen if any harm came to Connor.”

“I know you did.” Theo smirked, and flicked his eyes over Stiles’ face.

“And that’s it, no defense? Nothing?” The Emperor looked at his hands for a moment, before nodding at the two Guardians flanking the door behind Theo. “Take him.”

“What?!” Theo struggled in their grasp as the chimeras hauled him out of his chair. “Stiles! Stiles, you can’t do this!” 

“It’s already done.” The Chimera Emperor rose, watching with cold eyes as they dragged Theo away. “Bring him to the dungeons. The rest of you may leave.”

“Stiles!” Theo’s scream was cut off as one of the Guardians punched him ruthlessly. 

“What. The. Hell.” Corey whispered, watching as Stiles stalked off. He turned to look at Garrett. “What the hell was that?”

“Looks like Theo went too far this time.”

“But, but,” Corey spluttered. “It’s _Theo!_ Stiles loves him, he can’t…he can’t put Connor over us!”

“Maybe the Emperor has another plan?” Garrett offered, reaching out to take Corey’s hands in his own, smiling slightly when the younger chimera didn’t pull away from him this time. “Whatever it is, it’s probably best if you don’t get involved. Let them sort it out, we both know what he’s like when it comes to the Guardian Prime.”

“Yeah, I guess we do.” Corey stood up, frowning as he remembered that Garrett had only just recently been the subject of Stiles’ avenging wrath. “He forgave you for kidnapping and torturing Connor, right?”

“I gave him control of the Ghost Riders, and we did share the experience of killing together before Theo returned.” The Löwenmensch joined him in the corridor outside as Corey started walking towards the large atrium where a Guardian was minding Growler for him. “And don’t forget that Connor himself was the one who convinced the Emperor to spare my life, I’m sure he’d do the same for Theo.”

“Mhh.” Corey grunted, “I don’t know, they fight a lot, even knowing-” He cut off, angry that he nearly revealed Stiles’ secret. “Stiles is probably furious, but he wouldn’t kill Theo…no, he wouldn’t.”

 

Theo groaned as he came to, his head pounding dully, senses dim and distant. When his vision finally resolved into focus, the chimera could see where he was, recognizing the grim shadowed vaults of the dungeons. “Fuck.” He muttered, tasting blood in his mouth, an exploratory venture with his tongue telling him his lip was busted and not healing. The chimera rolled his head back, seeing his arms arched upwards, wrists locked in heavy steel chains. Not that it seemed to matter, Theo felt utterly drained. He tried to bunch his muscles and break the restraints, but nothing happened. “Gah! What the hell is going on?”

“It’s not very nice, is it?” Stiles emerged from the darkness in front of him. “Feeling like a human again. Although, I suppose you haven’t felt like that in a long time, huh, Theo?”

“Very funny, Stiles.” He glared at his boyfriend. “You gonna let me out now? Have everyone think that you punished me, or whatever?”

“Punishment?” Stiles arched a brow and gestured at the chains, his purple eyes gleaming in the darkness. “This isn’t a punishment, Theo, just a little reminder of who you’re dealing with.”

“Ruler of the world, supreme Emperor, something like that?”

“Hmm.” Stiles came closer to him, but Theo was unable to get a read on his scent, unable to smell anything at all. “Do you remember Hayden, Theo? The traitorous chimera; she worked for us in the end, but unwillingly.”

“I remember.” Theo muttered, searching for Stiles’ eyes, even as the Alpha Chimera’s gaze burned right through him. “What about her?”

“And Josh, you do remember him, don't you? What about Tracy?” Stiles turned away and paced back and forth slowly. “Three chimeras. Only three chimeras have ever disobeyed a direct command from their Alpha, their Emperor, their god!”

“You’re still just a chimera, Stiles.” Theo snarled at him, watching as the Emperor lowered his raised arms slowly. “One of us, gifted fantastic abilities, sure, but we all were, to greater or lesser degrees. You don’t need Connor, Stiles, you only need me!”

“Hmm, but you know better than that, Theo. Connor is more than just my bodyguard, more my friend, more than my brother even.” Stiles paused, before changing track completely. “Why did you do it?”

“I told you-”

“I mean why did you do it so openly? I’m sure there are a hundred different ways to kill Connor silently if you really wanted to.” The Emperor studied him as Theo remained silent. “And to betray your thoughts in front of Brett and Nick? No, the First Chimera is smarter than that, it’s what he claims to be, anyway.”

“What can I say?” Theo shrugged, “The bloodlust came over me, I saw an opportunity and I took it. I thought I could blame the goo, but Brett had terrible timing and Nick even worse. It is what it is, Stiles.”

“No, it isn’t.”

“Yes.”

“No,” Stiles smirked at him. “You wanted to be caught, you wanted them to think that you were about to kill my Guardian Prime, the one chimera I prize above all others.” 

“Grr!” Theo growled.

“Mmh, and even now you cling to the idea that I’ll believe you if you keep saying that this was about Connor, but it isn’t. This is about that threat I made, a very specific threat, something that made your cock twitch in your pants and drool at the very thought of it coming true.” Stiles’ voice became husky as he walked closer to Theo. “Just as it is now.”

“Huh.” Theo looked at the ground, his bulging trousers giving him away, even as blood-soaked images rushed across his mind. After a moment, the chimera looked up and gave Stiles his usual, knowing smirk. “Did it work?”

“Theo!” Stiles growled, fury pouring off him as the First Chimera’s senses returned with a sting. “Your true weakness has always been an inability to _ask_ for what you want, what you need. All you had to do was tell me, and I’m sure I’d find a way to give you what you desired.”

“It’s all about the blood, Stiles.” Theo grinned at him. “The room is almost complete, but the well is dry and with no prisoners to feed it, I’m willing to sacrifice my own for some…haha, glory!”

“I’m not beating you up, I’m not cutting you up, none of it, Theo.” Stiles shook his head.

“You don’t have to, it’s not about that, hell, it’s not even about fucking or sucking, this is all about the texture, the feel, the color,” Theo’s voice lowered into an aroused drawl. “Crimson on my skin, the shock of it, the feeling of just how wrong it is!”

“Wrong? I didn’t think you had morals, Theo.”

“I don’t mean it like that,” He shrugged. “The Doctors knew that human blood was cheap and easy, chimera blood was prized, the ones who survived a few days, whose blood was pure, before it turned to silver.” Theo paused, wetting his dry lips, and looked hungrily at Stiles. “I love war because it sheds blood so quickly; the smell in the air, the splatter on those handsome faces, beauty marred by vitality, glorious, Stiles.”

“You’ve never spoken about it before.” The Emperor gestured behind him, allowing the Guardians to enter and unlock the chains. “Why now?”

“Because I’m tired of secret lusts.” Theo rubbed his wrists as he was freed. “This is something I want, and when you threatened me, it seemed like the perfect time to see if you can scratch that itch for me. This isn’t something Corey can give me, and I wouldn’t want him too. We’re monsters, Stiles, up to our necks in the blood of the world, why not play in it?”

“I…” The Emperor turned away from Theo’s bright eyes and stepped out of the cell. “Remain here, I must talk to the Guardian Prime, he may not want revenge, but, as I said, _I_ won’t be beating you up, Theo.”

“I’ll wait, Stiles.” Theo grinned in the darkness, reaching down to fondle his cock as his fantasies turned into images in front of him, blood splattering across his and Stiles’ bodies in a glorious crimson rain. 

 

“Let me go.” Connor glared at the doctor as she tried to push him back into the bed. “I’m perfectly fine!”

“Guardian Prime, please, your wounds have barely healed.”

“Rawr!”

“Connor? What’s going on?” The Emperor stepped through the door, frowning at him. 

“Master.” He fell to his knees immediately, the chimeras following suit. “I am recovered.”

“Then you should leave, it’s fine.” The Emperor nodded at the doctor and reached out a hand, waiting until Connor grasped it, pulling him upwards. “I gotcha, let’s go.”

“Thank You, master.” Connor mumbled, feeling the world spin and slip out of focus as he walked unsteadily out of the medical clinic. He pulled the edges of the gown around his shoulders to hang lightly across the freshly repaired skin on his chest and arms, modesty hidden by a donated pair of trousers. The Guardian Prime pointed vaguely down the corridor as his vision fused and swam alarmingly. “My quarters…”

“Of course, where are the Ancient chimeras?”

“I sent them away and briefed the Guardians on what to watch out for.” Connor explained, angry at himself for leaning into the Emperor’s grip, allowing Him to bear most of his weight. He grasped the bar of the elevator as it whisked them down into the underground levels of the palace. “No signs of corruption yet, and my mind is my own, but I’m not sure if that is by intention or-”

“Connor, relax,” The Emperor squeezed his bicep comfortingly. “I believe that you’re you, and even if you weren’t, I’d find some way to reverse the effects. Let’s just get you home, get some rest, ok?”

“Yes, master.” The Guardian Prime mumbled, exiting the elevator and walking alongside him as they made their slow way through one of the many tunnels that honeycombed the subsurface of the Imperial Palace. The chimera was breathing heavily by the time they emerged into the throne room. “Ahhh.”

“Are you alright?” The Emperor propped him upright, hand reaching down to support his back. “We’re nearly there, Connor.”

“You should not be doing this, Emperor, the Guardians-”

“I want to, you’re my friend, now c’mon.” His master led the way across the wide space of the throne room towards another set of elevators, but Connor was barely able to discern where they were, eyes blinking as the Emperor guided him inside the box. "There we go, a few minutes more, my chimera." 

They emerged into the plush corridor and began walking down the length of the ziggurat. Connor struggled to keep his heavy eyes open, concentrating on conquering the final distance to his small apartment at the other end of the Emperor’s Quarters. “Here.” He reached out, inputting the code and nodded at the red door, almost invisible in the thick crimson band of color that dominated the hallway. The Emperor pushed open the door and Connor stepped through, hands in front of him, no longer leaning on his master as he stumbled into the bedroom.

“Let me.” The Emperor pulled down the sheets of the freshly changed bed, and eased the hospital robe off Connor, helping him inside. “There you are, I had them put on new bedclothes, but, um, they didn’t touch anything else.”

“Thank You, master.” Connor whispered, closing his eyes and lying back on the pillows. A moment later, he opened them, looking around to see the Emperor standing at his window, identical floor-to-ceiling panes as in the sitting room of the Emperor’s apartment. “You should sit, master.”

“I will.” He was silent for a minute, glancing at Connor’s reflection in the glass. “I’m just enjoying the fact that we’re together again, I should have never have sent you out to the Johnson Space Center, if I thought something would happen to you....”

“The Harvester took us by surprise.” Connor replied, frowning as he tried to recall what had happened. “It’s blurry, just…the interior spinning around and around, alarms blaring, and then, nothing. I don’t remember any more, master, I’m sorry.”

“It’s fine, Connor, and I thought we had agreed on a different name when we’re alone?”

“Of course, St-Stiles.” Connor replied, feeling his cheeks heat when the Emperor grinned at him, their gaze connected a little longer than comfortable. “Ah.” His eyes suddenly heavy, the chimera dropped off, darkness swallowing him up.

 

Stiles smiled to himself, content as he watched Connor sleep, lying on the bed next to him, propped up by one elbow. It reminded the Alpha Chimera of the last time he had done this, when Garrett had taken Connor. _You need to stop making a habit of this, my chimera._ Stiles thought to himself, reaching over to gently drag a fingertip over Connor’s face, along his smooth cheeks and the curve of his upper lip, pausing for a moment before running the digit gently along his lower lip. Stiles was too entranced by what he was doing that he never noticed Connor was watching him until the Emperor flicked his eyes up. “Oh. Sorry, you’re just…” _perfect._

“Is everything alright, Emperor?”

“Yes, Connor, everything is much better now.” Stiles forced himself to sit up, “But there is something I need to ask you.”

“Command me, Emperor!”

Stiles smiled at the zeal in his chimera’s voice, reaching over to grip Connor’s hand in his own for a brief moment. “I need the truth, did Theo try to kill you?”

“I…” Connor swallowed hard, looking at him. “Tell me what the truth is, and I will say it.”

“Connor,” Stiles groaned. “Just tell me, I already know what happened, but do you?”

“He held his claws to my neck.” The Guardian Prime pushed himself upright with a grimace. “Ah! I’m ok. Theo certainly made the appearance of wanting to kill me, but I’ve seen him on the battlefield; he doesn’t wait, he doesn’t linger, he just strikes.”

“So, it was a show after all?” Stiles nodded, looking at him. “That matches Theo’s account. But ultimately, it doesn’t matter, I gave an order for you not to be harmed, and he disregarded that. Though you are correct, he did not intend to kill you, but be caught.”

“Why?”

“Because he has a particular need that he won’t ask to be fulfilled.” Stiles muttered darkly. “Desires about blood.”

“I have seen the room he is having built below us, Stiles,” Connor replied. “The plans were ambitious, and it would certainly have been more efficient at storing and unleashing fifty gallons of blood at the flick of a button, instead of having to kill someone new each time. That’s a lot of blood, however.”

“No shit.” Stiles frowned, shaking his head. “It doesn’t really matter, I’m not comfortable beating Theo up, and even though a Guardian could do it, I thought perhaps…you would?”

“Me?”

“You don’t like Theo very much.” Stiles held his hands up as Connor made to interrupt. “Which is good for balance, but he was also going to kill you, Connor, I’d be unsurprised if you wanted revenge for that.”

The chimera was silent for a long time, eventually turning to him, head bowed. “Is that Your command, Emperor?”

“If it makes you feel better, then sure, it’s a command.”

“Very well, it shall be done, master.”

“Ok,” Stiles nodded, not quite sure what he had just ordered. He patted the pillow next to Connor’s head. “Go back to sleep now, my chimera, and recover your strength. I’ll just, um, I’ll wait a while longer.”

“Of course.”

Stiles itched closer to him as Connor rolled over onto his side, facing away from the Alpha Chimera. _Fuck,_ He groaned internally, looking down at the bulge forming in his trousers, but Stiles reached out anyway and glided his hand down Connor’s shoulder and arm. “You’re my perfect chimera, Connor, don’t ever forget that.” Stiles whispered, the Guardian Prime having already dropped off into a heavy sleep. He lingered for a few more guilty minutes, before getting up and returning to the cells to release Theo.

 

Scott waved goodbye to Liam and Philip as the two of them drove away from him towards the city center, leaving the chimera alone for the first time since the previous afternoon. The morning sun was glinting off the smooth expanse of pavement stones at the end of the Path of Legends, and Scott looked back at the looming statues of Stiles, Theo, and Corey towering over the gates to the Imperial Palace. He shook his head slightly, still not quite believing where he was and what had happened in the years since his death and resurrection. Scott turned around and continued walking, making his way through the gathered throngs of Faithful standing around outside the Church of the Emperor in Ascendence, the morning service having just finished. 

The interior of the cathedral was cool and crisp, a refreshing change from outside, the storm that had lingered over the capital finally dissipating. Philip had informed them last night that the Guardian Prime had returned, but something major had happened to Theo. Scott didn’t know what it was, but part of him couldn’t stop smiling: Stiles had changed, but Theo hadn’t, and the chimera was sure that he could change his former best friend back to the way he was if Theo was out of the picture permanently. He wasn’t a fool, however, having witnessed the way the other chimeras were around Stiles. Scott would have to-

“Can I help you?”

The low rumble caused Scott to look up, stopping in front of the altar, lost in his thoughts. He stared up at the solid-gold statue of Stiles, before swallowing and looking to one side. The question had come from the man he recognised as the Guardian Prime from the videos Philip and Liam had showed him, though Scott could see that he was much better-looking in real life, or at least, less severe in his expression. “Um, you’re the Guardian Prime, right?”

“Among other titles, yes, Scott.” Connor gestured for him to come closer, nodding as Scott stepped into a beam of light projected down from one of the ornate, stained glass windows at the front of the cathedral. “Good, glad to see you on your feet and fully recovered. When I last saw you, you were a little out of it.”

“I don’t remember.”

“I imagine not,” The Guardian Prime finished stacking the books behind the pulpit. “There are few who the Emperor would expend so many resources on, He must be certain that you can serve the glory of the Empire.”

Scott met his stare in confusion as the Guardian Prime seemed to be expecting a reply. “Um, thanks?” Connor arched a brow and Scott suddenly remembered the one response every chimera seemed to give several times a day. “Err, glory?”

“Next time say it like you mean it, and perhaps you can fool someone into thinking you really believe.” Connor frowned at him, shaking his head, and began to walk towards the exit. Scott turned and followed him hurriedly. “There is something else you want?”

“You’re the head of the chimera religion, right?”

“No, the Emperor is the head of our religion.” Connor pushed through the doors into the brilliant sunshine, smiling as it bathed his face. “Ah, I am merely the Emperor’s Prophet, the voice of His divine will.”

“Right,” Scott nodded quickly. “So, that means you know about every chimera, right?”

“What are you getting at?”

“St-The Emperor said that all chimeras have to kill in order to prove that they’re loyal.”

“Well, I suppose,” Connor shrugged. “Most chimeras were created during the war and soaked their claws in blood that way. He is not testing to see if you will kill of your own free will, He is testing to see if you will follow His command without being forced to.”

“What’s the difference?” Scott frowned. “It’s still murder.”

“The person you killed, what was their crime?”

“Terrorism, he was going to blow up a shopping mall.” He shrugged. “It doesn’t make it right.”

“And who are you to say that it is right or wrong?” Connor smiled at him, “As a chimera you no longer have that burden, the Emperor alone will decide our morality.”

“Huh.” Scott grunted, shaking his head. “Why would you want to live like that?”

“It is not a question of wanting to, it simply is.” The Guardian Prime gestured at the plaza in front of them, the thousands of chimeras and humans milling around. “The Chimera Emperor in His infinite wisdom and glory has created a world in which the only choice is to serve or to die, and when those are your options, many will serve.”

“That’s not much of a choice,” He followed Connor around the side of the cathedral. “I don’t understand why Stiles would-”

“Rawr!” The Guardian Prime whirled around, moving with ferocious speed and strength, grabbing the front of Scott’s hoodie and slamming him into the stone wall. “You _dare_ to speak His name?!”

“I, I’m sorry!” Scott shouted out, legs dangling as the armored chimera’s serrated claws shredded the fabric. “It was a slip, I forgot!”

“Well, let’s have no more slips, then.” Connor grunted, releasing Scott and flicking the scraps of cloth off his claws. “To all chimeras, the Alpha Chimera must be referred to by His titles only, and to most of the chimeras and all of the Faithful, speaking His name is a heretical crime with the harshest of punishments!”

“I got it.” Scott muttered, sitting on the pavement and staring up at him. “You’re really devoted to the Emperor, aren’t you?”

“All loyal chimeras would give their life for His.”

“Right.” He got to his feet, nodding at Connor’s claws. “Those are razor sharp.”

“Yes,” The Guardian Prime gestured for him to follow, leaving the plaza behind to walk through the streets of the capital. “The Guardians were created using a mix of essences-this has been explained to you, yes?”

“In general terms, not you specifically.”

“Hmm, well, all Guardians contain were-bear and werewolf essence, the First Chimera was able to refine the latter down to a more concentrated solution to mix with the common strain of chimera werewolf essence that unites us all.” Connor continued, seemingly ignoring all the people coming out to watch them go past, and the forest of hands that reached out to touch his armor, reverent whispers following them down the street. “That was enough to create us, though the Emperor went further, gifting to ten of the Guardians a single claw from the True Alpha.”

“Wait, that’s me!” Scott shouted out, tearing his eyes away from the crowds gathering around them. “You have my claws?”

“Not exactly, each was broken down and added to the Guardian’s creation. It was believed that this would add supplementary strength and power to them.” Connor stepped onto a side-street, pushing aside long, trailing banners to continue on. “It didn’t work, of course, chimera claws are no different than a werewolf’s. You’ve noticed that, right?”

“Yeah.”

“Additional enhancements are what make chimeras dangerous,” Connor explained, Scott walking alongside him on this quieter street. “Power-stealing is somewhat effective, though not as potent as between werewolf Betas and Alphas, for us it only really works between chimeras.”

“So, do you have my DNA or something?”

“No, it doesn’t work like that, the First Chimera would be able to give you more details on the procedures, I only know what I do because the Emperor has told me. This way.”

Scott followed him out onto a terrace extending down the coast. “Wow, this nice.”

“Rebuilding efforts in the capital are complete,” The Guardian Prime nodded, looking out at the ocean, blue waves crashing against the silver sands. “We have finally moved onto beautification and realizing our master’s vision.”

“Oh, great.” Scott blinked when he figured out that Connor had included him in the ‘our’. “Um, what is his vision?”

“The perfect world,” Connor spread his arms wide, and Scott could see him smile, eyes glinting brightly in the sunshine. “No war, no famine, no death; an entire planet united under the Chimera Emperor, chimeras and humans working together for the glory of our Empire! Rebuilding the cities that have fallen, restoring the lives broken by war and treachery, and raising monuments that will keep our civilisation strong in the memory of the heroes who fought to bring this world under chimera control!”

“Uh huh.” Scott nodded along with him, glancing back towards the palace, Stiles’ statue still visible even as the rise of the buildings behind them blocked the other two. “Well, I suppose he did conquer the world.”

“One world, yes,” Connor smiled, and tilted his head back, looking up into the blue sky. “Soon, the Chimera Empire will stretch across the stars themselves, until a thousand planets light up the galaxy with a billion purple-eyed chimeras, unified for one purpose: glory!” 

Scott couldn’t help but smile, swept up in the fantastic visions that Connor created as he talked, a golden, perfect future stretching out ahead of him. “That sounds…amazing.”

“The first few years will be difficult, of course,” Connor admitted, glancing at him. “Garrett’s rebellion did much to put us on the back foot, and the rise of a new threat could undo everything. Which is why we need loyal chimeras: unity, not division. Do you understand, Scott?”

“The werewolves.”

“They will be safer with us instead of fighting against us.” Connor smiled, his purple eyes glinting. “Chimera creation has been perfected, there is no risk, only glory, and the Emperor chose you for this holy task: to uplift those who are not chimeras into the glow of His divine unity!”

Scott nodded silently as they stopped talking, glancing occasionally at the Guardian Prime, studying his face and simple, battle-scarred armor, covertly figuring out his scent, nodding again when he found the unique tang below the waves of pride and zeal that hung heavy in the air. He bowed his head slightly in the way he saw Liam do sometimes to Nick and Philip. “You’ve given me a lot to think about, thank you.” 

"Of course, until we meet again." Connor smiled at him, and left Scott at the edge of the terrace, returning to the Imperial Palace.

 

Liam picked up the model and spun it around in his hands until Mason let out a horrified shout and he hurriedly put it down. “Sorry.”

“I spent all morning on that!” Mason glared at the two chimeras. “It’s a new design for the water works control system; the infrastructure around here is a disaster!”

“Um, ok, great.” Liam nodded at Philip, his boyfriend shrugging and hiding his grin. “How are you feeling, dude?”

“Good, why?”

“No reason, just, um, been a while since we seen ya is all.” The werewolf chimera watched his friend place the finishing touches to the model and stood up, gesturing for them to follow him out onto the patio at the back of the house. It had been converted into office and work spaces for the capital’s engineering division, and Liam could see that Mason had made himself at home rather quickly in the space of less than a day. “You’re busy?”

“Run off my feet, dude.” Mason offered them lemonade and sat down on the loungers at the edge of the garden. “There’s so much to do, and so little time to do it in. Although McCarthy-you guys know McCarthy, right?”

“Yeah, we met him on the way in.” Philip nodded when Liam didn’t reply.

“Right, well he was talking to a scientist up in the palace and they say that the Emperor is close to developing a formula for chimera immortality!” Mason grinned at them, his scent flushed and happy. “That does mean we have more time, but that also means we’re gonna have to design everything to last for a long time, since we’ll still be using it in the future.”

“That’s true,” Liam sipped his drink, slightly unnerved by how excited and normal Mason appeared. “Hey, quick question, what’s the atomic number of, err, gold?”

“Seventy-nine.” Mason replied without looking up from his notepad, sketching out a new design. “Why?”

“No reason,” Philip muttered, glaring at Liam. “When did le Bête de Gévaudan have its reign of terror?”

“Eighteenth century France.” He raised his head to look at them. “Why? What’s going on?”

“Um…”

“Supernatural, err, quiz night!” Liam shouted as Philip froze. “Yup, um, the pack is organizing it for, err,”

“The war relief effort.” Philip and Liam both nodded vigorously. 

“Oh.” Mason smiled. “Well, sign me up! I’ll do great on your team!”

“Great.” Liam echoed, glaring at his boyfriend when Mason returned to his notepad. 

“Sorry.” Philip mouthed back to him, but held up his hand, index finger raised. “Hey, Liam?”

“Yeah?”

“Didn’t you say that you and Mason used to know the Emperor?”

“That’s right,” Liam grinned as he figured out what Philip was testing for. “Sure, we go way back with Stiles and-”

“Heretic!” Mason jumped up and glared at them, pointing at Liam's chest accusingly. “The Emperor’s name is never to be spoken! He’ll strike us down where we stand!”

“Oh, of course, sorry.” Liam shrunk back a little from his intensity. “Glory to the Chimera Emperor.”

“Glory!” Mason cried out, looking towards the black ziggurat in the distance, dominating the horizon. Even his eyes glistened a little and Liam stared at him. 

“Well, you’re clearly busy, Mason,” Philip put down his drink and took Liam’s out of his hand, nodding towards the door. “But, um, don’t be a stranger, we’ll make plans to have dinner, ok?”

“Sounds good.” Mason grinned at him, back to normal, and waved goodbye to Liam. “See you guys later!”

Liam waited until they were in the street outside to speak, lowering his voice as a precaution. “That was some reaction.”

“Yeah, no way he’s faking.”

“So, he should be safe now, right?” Liam glanced back at the house. “He seemed happy.”

“The Emperor did a good thing, then.” Philip’s voice was carefully neutral, but Liam scowled anyway. “I’m just saying-”

“I know what you’re saying, we made the right choice.” Liam waited until they had got into the waiting car, directing the chimera driver to take them back to the palace, the privacy screen rising between front and back. “Hell, I wouldn’t have been surprised if Scott had to kill Mason for his test of loyalty the way things were going last week.”

“Uh huh.” 

“Don’t look so smug,” Liam grinned at him, watching the way Philip’s face turned from impassive to happy. He reached across the middle seat and kissed the Legendary chimera hard. “But you were right, thanks for talking me into it.”

“My pleasure, especially if it ends where I think it’s going to end!” He was about to pull Liam across fully, when Philip looked out of the car and saw Scott. “Hey! Slow down! Scott!” The chimera opened the window, gesturing for him to approach, the car stopping in the center of the plaza outside the gates. “You want a lift?”

“Sure.” The werewolf chimera grinned and collapsed on the seat, letting Philip move closer to Liam. “Thanks.”

“You get the answers you wanted?”

“Uh, some.” Scott shrugged. “The Guardian Prime had to leave kinda quick and I walked through the city getting completely lost. But yeah, he…certainly sees the world very differently?”

“A good different?” Liam asked him, covertly sniffing out Scott’s scent; guarded still, but happier. “Well, are you ready to bring the other packs into the fold?”

“I…” Scott paused, before he nodded and grinned widely at them. “I think so, the way Connor described it, things won’t be nearly as grim as I was afraid of.”

 

Connor grunted, lowering the weights to the floor, glancing in the mirror as the Emperor entered. He made to kneel, but his legs locked. “Emperor.”

“No need to debase yourself, my chimera, I already know that you are the most loyal of them all!” The Alpha Chimera smiled at him, gesturing for Connor to continue working out. “You do understand that our muscles won’t melt away, even if you did no exercise for years on end?”

“I know, master,” Connor replied, slowly lifting the dumbbell in his right hand, bicep flexing as he did so. “But I like to do this, when I have the time, of course. It feels good.”

“No doubt.” The Emperor smirked and stood behind him, out of his armor, Connor was slightly shorter than him, and the Alpha Chimera moved closer, wrapping his arms around the shirtless chimera. “No, keep going,” He whispered when Connor froze. “I want to feel your muscles ripple.”

“As You command, Emperor.” Connor murmured, his master’s hands caressing his stomach and pecs, the unnerving, if not unwelcome, pressure of a hardon against his ass. The Guardian Prime kept working out, switching hands as he did so, not speaking as the Emperor pressed his face against his neck, the briefest touch of lips against his sweat-streaked skin. “I…”

“It’s ok, Connor,” Stiles muttered softly, his hands still clutching the chimera close to him. “I missed you so much, missed your strength, and it’s so good to feel it under my fingers at last. But, all good things must end, huh?” He stepped back and ran his eyes over the Guardian Prime’s body. “Are you prepared to do what we discussed, my chimera?”

Connor put down the weights and dried himself off with a nearby towel. “Of course, master, but You didn’t really explain what I have to do?”

“Walk with me, and I’ll tell you.”

 

“You two have been really quiet today.” Nick remarked as he left the shower, looking over at where Jason and Josh were playing _Call of Duty: Rise the Chimera!_ “You ok?”

“Sure.”

“Uh huh.”

“You’re not very good at blocking your scents, you know?” He sat down on the bed behind them, towelling his hair dry. “Maybe work on that instead of beating the campaign?”

“What?” Jason glanced back at him, ripping his gaze away from his naked boyfriend once Josh batted his head. “Oh, no, we can’t. In the co-op campaign you play as the Emperor and First Chimera right before the Battle of Beacon Hills, it’s so awesome!”

“Yeah, we gotta get our skill up,” Josh added, “Liam is already insane as a tank chimera, and Philip plays with him as a winged chimera, their tag-team game is lethal!”

“Ugh.” Nick sighed, slumping back on the bed. “So, neither of you are gonna tell me why you were late in last night, smelling of death and dirt?”

“ _Game paused._ ”

The twins glanced at each other and then stood up, moving over to where Nick could see them. “What are you talking about?” Jason started casually. “We just went for a flight over the city and the surrounding area. No big deal, right bro?”

“Right.” Josh muttered, unable to look Nick in the eye when the Dragon rolled over onto his stomach, studying them. “It’s not like anything happened.”

“Sure.” Nick shrugged, and the twins sighed in relief. “So, what happened?”

“What?!”

“Nothing happened!”

“Something definitely happened.” Nick laughed, patting the bed beside him. “Now tell me.”

“I told you to trust him.” Jason whispered, nudging his brother forward, folding his arms. “It’s serious, Nick.”

“Ok,” The Dragon sat at the edge and draped the towel across his crotch. He looked at Josh. “You can talk to me, c’mon, what’s wrong?”

“Yesterday I was, we were out training, well, Jason was, but I took off,” Josh spoke hesitantly, looking at Nick’s knee instead of his eyes. “I flew outside the capital, pretty far out, to one of those towns that were hit by Garrett and the Ghost Riders.”

“Ok.”

“Um, I was exploring, thought I was alone, but then there was this noise, the sound of a gun.” Josh looked down at his hands, as though seeing the jets of air forming again. “I did what I was trained to do, dust storm as cover, find the target, kill the target.”

“Good.” Nick nodded. “That’s what you’re meant to do.”

“Yeah, but, it was just a kid.” The chimera muttered, nodding gratefully at his brother when Jason hugged him from the side. “They were armed, but still, I should have-”

“Hey,” The Dragon finally caught Josh’s attention, purple eyes burning as somewhere in the palace the Emperor mimicked his abilities. “It wasn’t your fault that kid tried to kill you, you reacted, same as we all would have. Hey, c’mere, Josh.” Nick pulled him into a proper hug, standing up to squeeze him tighter, nodding when Jason joined them. “I know you feel guilty, and honestly, that’s a hell of a lot better than feeling nothing.” He continued to hold the younger chimera tightly as Josh started sobbing. “It’s ok, it’ll be ok.”

 

Theo looked away from the half-finished blood fountain, and towards the doors as the lights faded down to their lowest setting, a dark red hue flushing across the room, and then a bank of bright lights hitting Theo in the face. “Ah! Stiles, is that you?”

“The Emperor is not yet ready for you.”

“Fuck!” Theo muttered, feeling his blood run cold as the Guardian Prime emerged from the gloom and into the light. “What are you doing here?”

Connor raised his hand and the lights flickered, returning to their normal level, allowing him to see Theo clearly, the mirrors nearby making the space feel larger than it was. He waited until he heard the door to the outside area close and nodded. “Now we are alone. So, this is it, huh?”

“Yeah.” Theo followed him closely, watching the way the armored chimera moved, where his hands were, his stomach crawling with tension. “You haven’t answered my question, Guardian Prime?”

“The Emperor told me that you admitted to trying to kill me,” Connor stopped moving, glancing at Theo as he examined his own metal-covered fist. “But not for the reasons we all expected; not for power, or proximity to the Emperor, not even for jealousy.” He shrugged, as though confused, and then suddenly grinned. “But for the pleasure of blood!”

“What of it?”

“The Emperor cannot demean Himself by striking you, First Chimera, so, He has commanded me to do it, instead.” 

“What?” Theo’s eyes opened wide, staring at him. “Stiles wouldn’t....you, you could kill me!”

“I have restraint,” Connor growled, his eyes burning with purple fire as he backed Theo against the wall. “Most of the time. Rawr!” The first strike hit Theo square in the nose, the crunch of cartilage as blood exploded from it and poured down the First Chimera’s face.

“Fuck!” Theo muttered, taken by surprise. He raised his hand to his face and smeared the blood onto his skin, eyes lightning up as the crimson liquid spread across the creases in his flesh. 

“You can remove your clothes if you wish,” The Guardian Prime rumbled, stepping away from him. “I am simply the…enabler, the Emperor will arrive shortly.”

“Great.” Theo whispered, unable to tear his eyes away from his hand, feeling the blood dribbling down his face and neck. He glanced in the mirror next to him, a feral grin appearing as he took in his blood-splattered appearance. “Ok, maybe I will.”

When Connor turned back, Theo was naked, his cock hard and sticking out, trails of blood winding their way uninterrupted down the smooth skin of his chest and pectoral muscles. “This chamber was designed to allow you to store enough blood to bathe in or carry out whatever other…activities you wanted to. I only regret that I will not be able to spill enough blood today to fill the reservoirs!” The chimera snarled and struck again, this time his claws carefully targeting the First Chimera’s chest, grunting in satisfaction as blood splattered against Theo’s skin, but the wounds vanished immediately. “The Emperor does not want you to be hurt.”

“It’s all for show,” Theo nodded hungrily, smearing his blood all over his body, nipples hardening as the red essence touched them. His cock was drooling uncontrollably at this point, and Theo grabbed the shaft, working himself up and down, sneering at Connor’s ill-disguised revulsion. “If you hate this so much, why did you agree to do it?”

“The Emperor commanded me to.”

“Gotta love blind obedience.” Theo smirked and nodded. “Get the nose again, and my lips, I love the feeling of blood streaming down my face!”

“Very well.” Connor curled his hand into a fist and smashed it into Theo’s face, stepping back as the chimera released a moan, ignoring his presence and instead staring at his reflection in the mirror.

“Oh, yeah! Now that’s what I like to see!” Theo grinned, the points of his fangs emerging, eyes glinting dangerously to reflect the crimson smears across his face, the trails of blood trickling down his neck and across the smooth expanse of his pectoral muscles. He raised his blood-splattered hands and looked at them, growling at Connor. “Get me the Emperor!”

“Very well.” The Guardian Prime repeated, turning away and nodding into the darkness. 

“I was already here, Theo.” Stiles emerged from the shadows and grinned at them both. “As much as Connor didn’t enjoy it, I sure did. And so did you.”

“So?” Theo shrugged, jerking himself off again with one hand, the other pulling Stiles against his body and crushed their mouths together. When he stepped away, Connor had melted from sight, and Theo glanced at Stiles. “He _is_ gone, right?”

“Yeah,” Stiles lifted a hand to his lips and wiped away the blood transfer, pausing before he smeared the wet, red dew on Theo’s forehead. “You going to give me an insight into this kink, or-”

“I’m gonna suck you off!” Theo growled, falling to his knees and tearing Stiles’ trousers down, freeing his cock. “Aww, still soft? Maybe we should get Connor back in here! Oh, hey, there we go!” Theo grinned cockily, swallowing Stiles’ hardening dick.

“Shut up and suck me!” The Emperor groaned, fisting his hair and trying to banish the image of Connor’s muscular body from his mind, switching to Corey and then Theo, but each time they kept sliding back into the memory of his bodyguard working out, skin smooth and tanned, biceps bulging under Stiles' fingers, Connor's pecs hard and lightly dappled with sweat. _Whatever, Theo has his fantasy, I’m gonna have mine! And if it's going to be my perfect chimera, then so be it._ “That’s it, Theo, only time you’ll ever get on your knees in front of me, huh?”

“Screw you.” Theo mumbled around the dick that was in his mouth, his own cock leaking precum and making his masturbation unusually slick as it mixed with the blood smeared along the shaft. He kept looking over at the mirror, knowing that it wasn’t about Stiles really, but it was the blood that was getting him off. _Fuck, hell of a contrast, and that copper tang to the air, there isn’t really that much, but Connor knew what he was doing._ Theo groaned as Stiles bucked back and forth into his mouth, his hands no longer confined to his cock, touching his blood smeared chest and face again. “Fuck, fuck, fuck!” 

“Already?” Stiles pulled away from him as Theo fell onto his back and several shots of cum arced upwards from the chimera’s dick, his pulse hammering hard in Stiles’ ears, even as Theo’s scent collapsed into the purest smell of euphoria the Alpha Chimera had ever experienced. He blinked and jerked himself off, closing his eyes to avoid looking at Theo’s blood-splattered form, and instead losing himself in his own secret fantasy. _Fuck, Connor, yes, just like that, fuck, yes, yes!_ “Ah! Ah! Ah!” Stiles grunted, not realizing he was creaming all over Theo, his boyfriend watching him hungrily from the ground. “Ah, yeah!” He gave his cock one final tug and then staggered backwards, his shoulders hitting a column in the middle of the room, eyes opening as his thoughts were dragged back to reality. 

“Pretty awesome, right?” Theo grinned at him, gesturing towards at door on the other side of the room. “C’mon, let’s shower off, I don’t really want to, but I figure I probably shouldn’t walk around the palace looking like I just had an accident with a blender!” He punched Stiles’ arm affectionately, scent buzzing with joy and energy.

“Yeah, I’m on my way.” Stiles nodded, feeling guilt seep into his stomach, but he followed Theo into the shower area anyway. _I’m sorry, Connor._

 

“Thissss will do.” The Harvester shuffled forward, the Corrupted trailing after it, the goo-covered forms slicked clean as the monster lifted up indistinct limbs and let the slime rush forward towards the town in front of them. The chimeras and humans behind it swayed on the spot, lifeless save for their unnatural movement, while the animals taken by The Harvester simply flopped to the ground, dead without the goop to animate them. “Yessss!” The Harvester watched a river of black goo invade the town, flooding through the streets and buildings, swallowing people and cars whole, continuing to ooze over everything until the entire town was surrounded. 

It clicked its limbs awkwardly, The Harvester’s body expanding until it stretched across the road, before its mouth was revealed. The monster moved with surprising speed, charging down the road towards the town, expanding as it joined up with the sea of black goop, swallowing everything in its path: people, cars, buildings, even the pipes under the town, leaving nothing in its wake but lifeless dust. “Delicioussss!”

 

“There you are,” Stiles grinned as he spotted Connor standing in front of the throne. His hair was dry, but Stiles still slicked a few drops of water from his ears. “Are you ok?”

“Of course, Emperor.”

“Good, um, so, I know I said that I didn’t want to be apart from you,” Stiles said, looked at the armored chimera’ stoic expression. “And I don’t, but after everything, I thought perhaps, you might want the afternoon off?”

“Off?” Connor frowned at him, some emotion returning to his face.

“Yeah, off, you know, for you to do what _you_ want?”

“I…suppose.” The Guardian Prime bowed neatly before him, “What is Your command, Emperor?”

“Well, that’s up to you, Connor.” Stiles looked away when the chimera’s eyes locked onto his own, guilt flaring in his chest again. 

“I guess, uh, a walk in the gardens?” Connor suggested, nodding more determinedly. “Yes. That will suffice. Have You seen the new maze, Emperor?”

“Maze? No, I didn’t know about that.”

“I had it built before I left, the Faithful within the palace thought it would be a nice addition.” Connor explained as they walked towards the exit. “Especially since the Imperial Gardens are a lot closer than the cathedral.” 

“Mmh,” Stiles nodded as he half-listened to Connor, walking in front of him through sheer muscle memory until he slowed down and forced himself to walk next to the Guardian Prime instead. “This is a quiet part of the gardens.”

“Yes, Emperor, such a sanctum should be serene and calm, just as the heart of the cathedral is.” Connor pointed at the entrance to the maze, green hedges blocking their view once they went inside, but he knew the correct path, and pointed out the various trail-markers that helped with navigation as they wound their way along identical hedges and into the heart of the puzzle. “And here we are.” 

“I never stop being surprised.” Stiles grinned at him and looked at the armored statue of himself in the middle of the clearing. “Marble?”

“Yes, Emperor.” Connor smiled slightly and nodded proudly at the construction. “The Faithful require icons to further spread our religion, and You are our leader, who better?”

“Statues of me?” Stiles quirked a brow and sat down on one of the smooth, granite benches that lined the clearing, the seats warmed from the sun overhead. “Come, join me.”

“As You command, Alpha.”

“There is something I must tell you, Connor.” Stiles wetted his lips as the Guardian Prime looked at him. “It’s hard for me to say, it could-it will-change things between us forever, but I hope you will remain with me.”

“Emperor?”

“When we were upgrading your abilities and ensuring that you could work in sync with my own, I added something extra to you,” He paused, breathing deep, meeting Connor’s eyes. “And only you, Connor. A part of me rests in you.” Stiles reached out and tapped the Guardian Prime’s breastplate. “A sliver of Overmind DNA, wrapped in mine, just enough to…tie the threads, to bring us as close together as possible.”

There was silence between them for a moment, stretching from awkward tension into a frosty stillness. Finally, the chimera spoke. “What do You mean, Emperor?”

“We are brothers, Connor, closer than any other chimera. If ever there was to be another Overmind, it would be you!”

“No-”

“You are my one true equal, someone who sees the world as I do,” Stiles pressed closer, his eyes blazing with purple infernos. “The only one worthy enough to stand by my side and call himself ‘Emperor!’”

“No!” Connor shouted, shaking his head furiously. “That is heresy!” 

“Not if you are a god alongside me.”

“I am not worthy, master.”

“Yes, you are.” Stiles insisted, pulling the chimera back towards him. “If Theo hadn’t built me this Empire, my armies, everything, I would have…you could stand beside me as he does, Connor, above him, even. Join me, and we can rule the galaxy together!”

“No, mast…Stiles.” The Guardian Prime looked him in the eye, speaking plainly for the first time in years. “That is not my place, that is not my role, it never was, and it can never be. Theo might be a monster, but he is Your monster, Stiles, just as You are his.”

“Doomed to be star-crossed lovers, huh?” Stiles smiled sadly, placing his hands onto Connor’s arm, his passion fading with the rejection. 

“Not even that, there can never be anything between us but master and servant.” Connor replied with an awful finality. “We share a common gene, but I am no Overmind.”

“You’re wrong.” Stiles gripped him as he tried to stand. “I see the way the Ancient chimeras look at you, I know how everyone looks up to you, Connor; you’re selfless and devoted and _perfect_. Why not stay beside me, why not take the power that is right in front of you?”

Connor was silent for a long time, staring into the distance. When he eventually spoke, Stiles knew the conversation was over, and he had lost. “Is that Your command, Emperor?”

“No, Connor, I’ll never ask you to do anything like what happened with Theo again. That was wrong of me, I’m sorry.” Stiles released his grip and watched as the Guardian Prime nodded. He walked over to the statue, and Stiles arched his brow when Connor knelt before his likeness, the whispered words making his lips quirk and his head shake slightly.

“Glory to You, Chimera Emperor, grant me Your benevolence so that I may continue to serve our Empire.” Connor stood and looked his way. “I am ready to return to duty, master.”

 

Corey rolled his eyes as Theo shot another idea at him, the living room of their apartment strewn with paper and flipcharts. He had come home from walking Growler to find the chimera pacing relentlessly, and suspiciously full of energy and exuberance. “That’s possibly the worst idea yet.”

“I don’t see why; they’d be on an island, and everyone knows werewolves can’t fly, Corey!” Theo fired back defensively.

“Haven’t you seen the rest of the franchise?” Corey groaned. “Just, just scrap it.”

“Fine, ok, I have other ideas!” He fumed for a moment, working feverishly on the flipchart in front of him as Corey picked up Growler and pulled the chewed ball of paper from his mouth. “How about this one?!”

“It’s a giant wall.”

“And it’ll say; ‘Welcome to Werewolf World!’” Theo spread his hands dramatically. “An adventure of the old world awaits!”

“That’s a terrible slogan.”

“I’m trying, Corey!”

“Why are you even doing this?” Corey stopped and stared at Growler, the puppy snorting at him. “You better not have made my dog sick.”

“Oh, he’ll be fine.” Theo dismissed him with a wave, pulling up another sheet of paper and attaching it to the flipchart next to him. “I’m thinking you could have different zones, you know, like a Beacon Hills zones, and then a ‘werewolves in London’ zone, and-”

“I hate that film.” Corey muttered. “Don’t you have any original ideas?”

“Plenty.” Theo snapped at him. “But don’t expect me to just show them to you.”

“Aw, Theo, c’mon, I didn’t mean it like that.” Corey moaned, pushing Growler off his lap to go over and hug his boyfriend. “I just meant, are you sure this is a good idea at all?”

“Yeah,” The First Chimera nodded and hugged Corey back. “This is something I need, you know me, I’d go crazy if there was actually no more fighting to do. This Harvester creature sounds like a big deal, and I couldn’t be more excited to take it on! But after, when we win-because we will-I want something that’s mine.”

“Ok,” Corey stepped away from him, frowning. “Leaving aside the monster for a minute, you can’t expect Stiles to just give you Werewolf World as your own private amusement park, Theo, to torture werewolves and whatever else you have planned.”

“That’s not what this is about, Corey.” Theo reached across him and pulled put a sheet that the younger chimera had never seen before. “This is what it’s about…”

 

Scott glanced at the silent figure of the Guardian Prime as he stood behind Stiles, the Emperor gesturing for him to come join him at the edge of the balcony, looking out across the azure-tipped waves as night slowly wrapped its velvety embrace around them. “Emperor.” Scott bowed shortly.

“So, Scott, are you finally ready to take up the task I resurrected you for?”

“Yes, Emperor, I am ready.”

“Excellent,” Stiles grinned, his eyes on the water even as he spoke. “Chimera Intelligence has picked up a large pack of werewolves a hundred miles north of the Fount of Glory, no doubt searching for news of the True Alpha’s return.”

“What do I have to do?”

“Take Liam and Brett, Mason is…better suited to remaining where he is, safe and secure in the heart of the Empire.” Stiles explained, glancing at Scott. “Convince the werewolves that their salvation lies with the Empire, use whatever tactics and means to bring them into the fold.”

“As you command, Emperor.” Scott forced himself to kneel, meeting Connor’s eyes briefly as the Guardian Prime nodded at him. “I will bring them all back.”

“Good,” Stiles let him leave, calling out over his shoulder. “And Scott? Kill those who refuse, they are rebels and criminals.”

“I…”

“I will give Brett and Liam the same orders,” He turned around, smirking as Scott frowned. “So, you can either be a witness to a bloodbath, or you can prevent one with that famous charisma of yours. Neither of my chimeras will fail me, and don’t put a toe out of line, Scott, remember that I can find you anywhere now.” Stiles’ eyes flashed purple against the brilliant cascade of colors behind him as the sun dipped below the horizon. 

Scott was silent for a moment, before nodding. “Don’t worry, I won’t fail you either, Emperor.” He bowed again and turned to leave.

“Well, Connor?” Stiles glanced at his brother, the Guardian Prime moving closer to him. “Will he succeed?”

“Perhaps,” He shrugged. “I think the real question, master, is if You want him to succeed?”

“Hmm, only as a chimera, anything else, and this experiment has failed.” Stiles glared at Scott’s back, now far out of listening range, before his gaze softened and he looked at Connor, smiling. “Now, tell me more about this Harvester, my perfect chimera.”


	4. On the Other Side

The sun was high above them, beaming down from a deep cobalt sky, not a cloud in sight as Theo and Stiles strolled along the battlements, a group of Imperial Guardians marching behind them, close enough to protect the Emperor, but far enough that they weren’t eavesdropping. Theo glanced at Stiles, confused as to why they were even out here, and more so why the nearly omnipresent Guardian Prime wasn’t behind him as usual. But the First Chimera remained silent, walking beside him, looking out now and then at the vast expanse of blue ocean to their right, a few boats scattered across the surface, golden beaches just visible in the distance. Stiles slowed and gestured for Theo to join him on a tower that jutted out from the curtain wall, giving even greater views of the coastline, the black bulk of the Imperial Palace rising behind them. “What is it?”

“I wanted to talk to you,” Stiles glanced at him, averting his eyes after a second and looking back at the ocean. “Somewhere quiet and where we would not be overheard.”

“Ok, I’m listening.” Theo hesitated, watching Stiles. “Is there a reason why Connor isn’t with us? Is this about what happened a few days ago? In the…blood chamber?”

“Not quite.” He shrugged, “But yeah, there’s a reason why I chose now instead of another time. Connor is giving a sermon in the Church of the Emperor in Ascendence, he’ll be there for about an hour.”

 _I swear he says that just to hear the sound of his own religion!_ Theo resisted the urge to roll his eyes and instead nodded. “I’m listening.”

“Yeah, this isn’t exactly…I wasn’t going to tell you, but we have enough secrets as there is-”

“You have _more_ secrets?” Theo arched a brow. “The second Overmind, a plan to blow up the moon, and bringing a werewolf back to life through arcane druidic magic wasn’t enough?!”

“No, not really.” Stiles gestured grandly, smirking. “Some secrets you’d never believe, some I hope you never have to, and some that will be revealed in due time.”

“Fine, be mysterious.”

“Well, this one I won’t be keeping from you,” The Emperor was looking at him now, eyes glowing a dark purple, a tendril of electricity wrapping around one hand like a snake. “After our…session, I spoke with Connor, I felt bad for asking him to do what he did, to act as an enabler. It wasn’t right, Theo.”

“It was fine, he didn’t enjoy it, but I did!”

“Yes, but _he_ didn’t.” Stiles replied firmly. “Hmm, but there’s more. You mightn’t want to admit it, but Connor is strong, powerful, he holds the respect of almost every chimera.”

“I respect him.” Theo protested. “I don’t like him, but I _respect_ his power. Even though he’s a point of friction, I mean, you did give him that piece of the Overmind, although that actually makes me respect him more. The Overmind is all-powerful, Stiles, it is what has made this Empire work, the power behind the throne. I won’t lie and say I understand your reasons for doing that, but Connor is part Overmind, he deserves my respect.”

 _Huh, is that grudging admiration I hear?_ Stiles nodded slowly, listening to Theo as he spoke. “I understand that, my point was that you and Corey are close to me, and you and me, Theo, like you said yourself, we’re monsters, the bad guys.”

“But Connor isn’t?”

“No,” Stiles placed his hands on the stone battlements and braced himself against them. “He’s a paragon of virtue, a chimera that all can look up to, and even though his claws are bloodied from time to time, it is done on my command, never his own. Just as Corey acts as the balance in my relationship with you, I thought perhaps Connor would act as the balance for the Empire.”

“What are you saying, Stiles?” Theo’s eyes narrowed, his heart beating faster.

“I offered him place at my side, to rule next to me as Emperor.” The Alpha Chimera whispered the final words, not looking at anything other than the ocean, hearing Theo’s pulse spike higher, the smell of his surprise laced with anger. “But before you start, he refused. Shot me down the only way Connor could: asking me if it was a command. He has no dreams of power, Theo, only to serve.”

“I…what?!”

“Perhaps in a thousand years, when I get tired of ruling, he could take over. Because he would make a good Emperor, someone to maintain my laws and legacy.” Stiles dismissed the thoughts with a wave. “Well, are you going to tell me what you think?”

“That’s it?” Theo stared at him. “You’re just gonna drop a bomb like that and make out like it’s no big deal that you offered the entire Empire to him?!”

“The Empire is already yours, Theo, you can do whatever you want, within reason, naturally. But you chose long ago to leave the ruling to me as you fiddled around with your projects; valuable work, of course, but still, there could have been two thrones on the dais instead of one.”

“Why did he refuse? That makes no sense.” Theo frowned, shaking his head slightly. “So, things are staying the same, then?”

“Sure, he’ll serve beside, or rather, behind me, and you will remain my number one.” Stiles glanced at him. “I know the question you want to ask me.”

“And your answer?”

“I value you, Theo, and I remember you saying that you divide the world into those you value and those you do not, love is irrelevant.” The Emperor spread his arms wide. “In all the world, chimeras or humans, there are only two I value as much as I value you. One relationship will never be more than master and servant, but I can live with that if it means he remains by my side forever. I suppose the question is, can you?”

“I think so.” Theo eventually replied, studying Stiles’ handsome face. He grinned. “I value you too, Stiles. And Corey, of course. I get that you and Connor have this special relationship, that you made him into something that fills the void left by Scott’s lack of understanding, by his betrayal.”

“It goes beyond Scott, Connor is…greater.”

“Sure, but my point is that you are actual brothers, united by the Overmind, so maybe it’s better that you have a special relationship, rather than a sexual one.” Theo smirked at him. “But I’ve been up close and personal with Connor, so…I’m not blind!” He added when Stiles’ eyes widened slightly. “And he did commit to bloodying me up, which is more than I can say for you.”

“Theo,” Stiles groaned, shoving him playfully. “You’re a disaster!”

“Well, I’m just glad that you’re still interested in me.”

“Of course I am.” Stiles frowned at him as though it should have been obvious. “You’re insanely hot, for starters, very talented in the bedroom, and out of all of my chimeras, Connor included, you just get me instantly, no effort required.” 

“Thanks, Stiles.” Theo grinned. “It was beginning to feel like me and you and Corey were in some sort of Middle Ages alliance-based marriage these last few months!”

“Thinking of getting married?”

“No, I just, it didn’t feel like it used to, is all.” The First Chimera touched his hand, feeling his pulse quicken when Stiles’ eyes flashed, and the Emperor returned his smile. “But perhaps that’s changing?”

“Well, we were never going to have a conventional relationship, that first date of ours notwithstanding!”

“You mean the park; coffee, ice cream?” Theo smirked as he thought about it again. “Seems pretty innocent, not really like what we got up to a few days ago, huh?”

“Right.” Stiles nodded, trying not to think about the moments in the blood chamber where everything had boiled over from idle fantasy into actual fantasy. Theo didn’t seem to care, even if he had kept that part back, Stiles could smell the happiness thrumming through the First Chimera’s scent. _Which is good, I could not have risked a schism in the Empire over something like this. Theo saw reason, and not, as I feared, the bottom of the ocean. It is such a long way to fall…_ His expression grim, Stiles pushed himself up over the edge of the battlements, able to look down the hundreds of feet to where the stone foundations of the tower met the rocky reefs of the coast. “Mmh.”

“So, what are you gonna tell Corey?” Theo asked him, unaware of the terrible thoughts echoing through Stiles’ mind. 

“Not sure.” The Emperor smirked suddenly. “I’ll tell Corey about it when he gets honest about the fact he’s still in love with Garrett.”

“Huh,” Theo laughed. “You have all this personal shit and dealing with Scott _and_ running an Empire, and yet you still never miss a thing! How the hell do you do that, Stiles?”

“Well, I _am_ the God-Emperor!” Stiles grinned at him, Theo rolled his eyes, and suddenly it was as though nothing had ever changed between them.

 

“How can you be sure they’re still here?” Scott shouted over the roar of the Osprey’s engines. “We should have been there and back by now!”

“Didn’t know you were so eager to get into the fight!” Brett grinned at him, his eyes glinting with purple fire, still connected to the Emperor despite the distance.

“Chimera Intelligence had to verify the pack’s position.” Liam called out before Scott could reply. “They kept moving around the northern end of the Preserve, before finally settling down at this location.” He held up a tablet, pointing at the map on the screen. “We’re crossing over the forest now.”

“I know.” Scott stared down at the blown-out trees and devastation spreading out from the Nemeton for miles around. He gestured out the window. “Can we land? I want to check it out.”

“Very well,” Brett nodded, telling the pilot to set them down. “The Emperor’s orders were clear: you’re in control of this mission, so long as you don’t go against His command or try and fight us.”

“Great.” Scott muttered, turning to wait in front of the ramp as the aircraft landed at the bottom of the enormous crater that the Nemeton had sunken into. The chimera hopped out and glanced over his shoulder as Liam and Brett followed, the Osprey’s engines idling quietly behind them. There were some trees left near the shattered stump of the Nemeton itself, charred and burnt, the very air itself still stinging with a sharp taste that caused Scott to gag. He walked slowly over to the oak, an unnerving crunch underfoot making him look down and instantly wish he hadn’t: heat-weakened bones littered the entire crater. It reminded Scott of the images Lydia had described to them once of what Parrish’s dreams were like. Scott chewed his lip, the memories were clear to him, as though they happened a few months ago, instead of _years._

Liam frowned and crouched next to a strange lump of hardened black goop. “Hey, Brett?”

“Yeah?” The chimera sounded bored and walked over to him. “What is it?”

“Is this the stuff that you and Nick found the Guardian Prime covered in?”

“Hmm, could be.” Brett picked up a nearby tibia, ignored Liam’s expression of disgust, and poked the lump. There was no reaction and the two chimeras looked at each other. “Let’s see if there’s any more.”

Scott hesitantly placed his hands on the Nemeton, he had no memory of the ritual that had brought him back, though he knew that it had come at great cost, Liam and Philip being evasive whenever he pressed at what that cost had been and who paid for it. “Huh.” Scott looked at the dusty remains of broken bones and ash on the other side of the trunk, the pile was pitifully small. But before he could investigate further, Liam and Brett came up behind him, pointing at the trail of hardened goo that reached inside the Nemeton's broken core. “What is it?”

“The place where The Harvester came from.” Brett nodded. “The druids and darachs said that there was a risk that the ritual would go wrong and break the Nemeton. They never said why they were afraid of it, but I’m guessing it must have been because this monster was imprisoned here, or in whatever place the Nemeton gets its power from.”

“Ritual?” Scott echoed. “What do you mean?”

“Science alone could not restore your life,” Brett grinned horribly at him. “It would take a glorious ritual of the Emperor’s knowledge and the sacrifice of blood and flesh and bone to haul you back from the afterlife.”

Scott took an involuntary step back at the mad gleam in the other chimera’s eyes. “What-”

“Don’t, Brett.” Liam cut across him, shaking his head before glancing at the former Alpha. “All you should know, Scott, is that your resurrection cost lives, so you better make sure it was worth it.” He glared at both of them and started back towards the Osprey. “C’mon, let’s complete the mission so we can get back to Victory City.”

“What lives?” Scott asked once Liam had gone. “Brett?”

“Where did you think my pack went? Hmm? Their bones are all around you, Scott.” The fanatical chimera spread his hands wide. “The divine Emperor used them-and a hundred other werewolves-as fuel to power His ritual and drag your ungrateful ass into the world of the living once again. Liam is here to reinforce your authority, true, but if you decide to go rogue, the Chimera Emperor has commanded me to put you back into the ground. Understood?”

“Yeah.” Scott mumbled, a buzzing sound having filled his ears after Brett mentioned the hundred dead werewolves. He wordlessly followed him back to the Osprey, not hearing Liam question Brett, his face haunted by the knowledge that so many had died just to bring him back to life. Scott remembered Stiles before he became a chimera, he often thought about those days, in fact, of the promises they made to each other to help, to save the other should anything happen, idly declaring that it didn’t matter what it would cost, they’d do it. “This is too much…” Scott muttered, “That he’d do all this just to bring me back, it’s…” He never finished the sentence, catching Brett’s zealous gaze and shutting up, the Osprey rising back into the air with a roar of its engines. 

 

Theo stared at the sample of black goop he had collected from their raid on The Harvester’s prison, watching in fascination as it bounced against the Perspex box he had encased it in, the goo clearly trying to get back out. “It’s not really alive, but I’m not sure _what_ it is.” He said to Corey, the younger chimera sitting on an office chair next to him. “Stiles said Connor described the ooze as sentient, responding to The Harvester like the Corrupted, except I’m pretty sure that the Corrupted themselves are operated by the goo, that they’re actually dead.”

“So, do you think you can track it?” Corey pulled his eyes away from the goop and looked at him. “It’s kinda hard to do my job without even being able to see this thing, never mind figure out what it wants. Stiles isn’t that worried, but I read the reports, The Harvester wants to eat the world. I don’t want to be eaten!”

“Eaten out maybe!” 

“Theo!”

“Haha,” The older chimera smirked at him as Corey flushed. “Don’t worry, you’re much too cute to be eaten alive. And we’ll figure something out, hell, for all we know, this is another of Stiles’ secret plans coming to fruition.”

“Maybe.” Corey nodded. “But I don’t like it, I thought we were done with all the world wars, he-” The chimera broke off as one of his agents entered the lab. “What is it?”

Theo returned to skimming the lab results on the goop as Corey talked quietly with the other chimera, his ears perking up as soon as he heard the words “heretics”, “humans”, and “Malibu”. _Hmm, that’s pretty close._ The First Chimera glanced over and nodded at Corey. “What’s going on?”

“Just some odd reports, some people disrespecting Stiles.” Corey flipped through the file and shrugged. “It’s a religious matter, I’ll pass it on to Connor later.”

“I’ll do it.” Theo said quickly. “I need to talk to him anyway.”

“Um, ok.” Corey frowned at him. “Stiles is in Afternoon Adulation, Connor will be with him, they’re in the throne room.” He added, when Theo just frowned, confused. “Do you want the file?”

“Thanks.” Theo smiled and kissed Corey on the cheek. “I’ll see you later!”

“Uh, great.”

Theo walked briskly towards the elevator, grinning to himself as a new plan formed in his mind. He had been thinking a lot about what Stiles had told him that morning, about how Connor didn’t take the power that was offered to him. _But Stiles is still fond of him, not sure if it’s just pure attraction, or if he’s slowly leaning towards a more platonic friendship. Honestly, if they just fucked and got it over with…_ Theo smirked at his reflection as the elevator rose up through the dozens of floors of underground labs beneath the surface of the Imperial Palace. “Not that Connor would ever actively seek that out, Stiles could make him, but he cares too much to do that. So, they’ll have that tension, and that’s fine, as long as I get something in return. I’ve never really tried to get along with Connor, I still don’t get why he’d turn down an offer of that much power, but maybe this is a way to build some bridges.” Theo tapped the folder in his hand against the glass of the elevator as it slowed down, opening on the surface, the grand, imposing entrance of the palace in front of him. Everything had been designed to awe and amaze, and Theo never got tired of looking at the most tangible expression of their victory. 

He began to climb the steps, thoughts continuing to swirl around his mind. _Connor will want to smash the heretics; they offend the Emperor and ignore his “holy” commands! Haha, still, it might be fun to play the role of a zealot, I kinda miss being an infiltrator for the Dread Doctors._ Theo nodded at the Guardians outside the throne room, chimeras and humans bowing before him, moving out of the way as he slipped inside the long hall.

 

Josh fell back on the bed, his brother panting beside him as Nick crawled between them and grinned lazily at him. “What?”

“That was awesome as always!”

“Thanks.” Josh muttered, cheeks flushing even as his cock twitched against his cum-splattered abs. “You were right, pretty good distraction.”

“Told you!” Jason called out, turning over so he could snuggle up to Nick, draping his body across half of the Dragon’s torso, and bucking slightly against his thigh. Even though they got off in their merged form, the twins had noticed that they could cum almost immediately in their separate bodies, a fact that they had exploited to prolong the sex with Nick, even though they still shied away from actually doing anything with each other. “We went for about an hour there, you ok, Nick?”

“Yeah, of course, love chimera healing!” He grinned and ruffled Jason’s hair affectionately, glancing at Josh. “You wanna come closer?”

“I’m fine here.”

“That’s the thing about distractions, huh, they never last forever and before long you’re back to thinking about the very thing you’re trying to forget.” Nick wrapped his arm around Josh’s shoulders and hugged him. “You won’t be able to take back what you did, but you’re dealing with it a lot better than I was afraid of.”

“I’m not gonna fall apart.” Josh protested, his hand reaching up to slide into Nick’s. “We’ve been in the war, we’ve-I’ve-killed people before, but they were always trying to kill us, they were always older, it was always a case of following the Emperor’s commands. This is different, worse, I guess.”

“I don’t know what I can say to assuage your guilt, Josh, but I do know of a way for you to help people, to channel your feelings effectively.” The Dragon glanced to his left, but Jason had dozed off, sleeping peacefully. “Haha, guess we wiped your brother out. Oh well, probably for the best. So, I was talking to the Guardian Prime this morning before his address to the Faithful, did you hear his speech?”

“No, me and Jason were at the beach, skipping stones and, heh, working on our tan.”

“Ah, I see!” Nick ran his other hand down Josh’s chest and grinned at the feel of the smooth, heated skin under his fingers. “Well, Connor announced that he’s been given approval from the Emperor to construct a new city about twenty miles from here: City of the Chosen, Seat of the Ascendence, The Prophet’s Mantle, something terribly audacious for a name anyway. It’s for the Faithful, humans and chimeras both, designed to house, educate, and train the new recruits of our Church. It will be a city full of temples and monuments, honoring the Emperor, and revelling in His many victories.”

“Sounds interesting.” Josh glanced at him, smiling at the fire in Nick’s eyes. “Are you going to play a part in building it?”

“If I can, you should too.”

“Me?”

“Think about it; you’re really smart and you believe in the Emperor’s vision, right?”

“Of course.” The younger chimera nodded. “But I don’t know how to build anything, what good would I be?”

“You don’t have to actually do any building,” Nick smirked. “But you could become a Voice of the Emperor, Connor said that they’ll essentially be the clergy, that before the year is out, he wants one Voice in every corner of the Empire, so that no one goes without hearing the Emperor’s divine words, and truly uniting all chimeras and loyalists together. Not that I’m saying you need to leave, you can stay in Victory City for as long as you want, I’m sure, you are Inner Pack, after all.”

“Hmm.” Josh nodded slowly. “I like that idea, it sounds good, and noble, and kinda cool. You think people would listen to me?”

“Of course, they already respect you, you just don’t know it.” He kissed the top of Josh’s head. “Plus, once you deliver the Emperor’s word, you can always talk about whatever you want, give lessons, tell the Faithful how to live. I’m pretty sure that Connor has already trained a few Voices, so he doesn’t have to do everything himself anymore. Especially since the Emperor will want the Guardian Prime at His side after being…captured for so long.”

“Yeah,” Josh replied, “I think I’d like that.”

“Do you know what I’d like?” Jason muttered sleepily as he climbed fully on top of Nick. “For you to shut up and let me rest!”

“Are you sure that’s what you want?” Nick smirked, reaching down to grip his butt cheeks in each hand. “Because I can feel your dick leaking against my stomach.”

“Mmh, maybe I _do_ want something else!” He murmured, his eyes flicking towards his brother. “You wanna stay and watch?”

“Have I said no yet?” Josh matched Nick’s smirk and started jerking his cock eagerly. “Go for it!”

 

Connor watched from his position to the left of the Imperial dais as the supplicants entered and knelt in front of the Emperor, their words of praise and adoration falling from their lips as the Alpha Chimera sat in His throne, a faint smile on His lips, glancing every few minutes over to him, as though making sure the Guardian Prime was still there. 

“Glory to You, o mighty God-Emperor, Master of Chimeras, the Unified Overmind, Supreme Ruler of the Earth, the Alpha Chimera…” The next human prostrated himself on the marble floor in front of the Emperor, his head not quite touching the ground, the titles said with the usual cadence that they all had; learnt off, though trying to appear as if they had just pulled all eighteen of the Emperor’s names from nowhere. Connor flicked his gaze away from the display as he noticed the First Chimera walking up the hall towards him. The Guardian Prime’s expression remained neutral even as he gauged whether Theo was a threat or simply the Emperor’s boyfriend dropping by for a chat. 

“Emperor.” Theo bobbed his head towards the throne, but turned to Connor instead, offering him a smile. “Guardian Prime.”

“First Chimera.” He replied emotionlessly, eyes flicking over Theo, but the chimera’s claws were sheathed, and his scent was eager, sharp, faint tendrils of either bloodlust or just ordinary lust sparking off him, Connor couldn’t be sure which. “The Emperor is currently in Afternoon Adulation as you can see, but He should be finished in an hour.”

“Oh, I’m not here for him.” Theo offered him a file bearing the mark of Chimera Intelligence. “I bring with me news of a foul heresy brewing right here on our doorstep. Our backdoor-step, probably: Malibu.”

“Really?” Connor glanced at the Emperor, but He was talking to the supplicant and the Guardian Prime gestured for Theo to walk with him, leaving the front of the hall and moving into the middle, standing next to one of the enormous pillars that supported the vast ceiling above them. The shadows cast by the rounded column made no difference to Connor, his purple eyes adjusting as he read the report, his body angled so he could still see the Emperor and react if needed. 

“Well?”

“The intel seems accurate,” Connor nodded. “I’ll dispatch a squad of the Faithful to investigate more and destroy the heretics if needed.”

“Well, hold on a minute.” Theo’s hand shot out and he gripped Connor’s armored forearm. “Why don’t we investigate?”

“ _We?_ ”

“Me and you, and your Faithful, of course.” The First Chimera was grinning at him, his scent genuine and clear, even as Connor searched for a hidden meaning, knowing that chimeras could augment their scent to hide or evade questioning. “St-the Emperor will be in an Imperial Council meeting all day tomorrow-roads, sewage, boring infrastructure stuff-come with me, Connor, we can check it out, and if the situation merits it, bathe our claws in blood together!”

 _Ah, there it is._ Connor regarded him thoughtfully, seeing the way Theo’s eyes glowed a little brighter once he mentioned the blood. He took a deep breath and nodded slowly. “I suppose I can accept that reasoning, and the Faithful will take heart in knowing that the First Chimera is joining them to root out these heretics.”

“Great!” Theo grinned at him, a somewhat unnerving expression to be directed his way, since Connor was unused to Theo being positive around him. “Work out the details with your squad and tell me later, I assume you’ll be with us on the terrace when we’re having dinner?”

“That is correct, I will be by the Emperor’s side as He requested.” Connor nodded, inclining his head slightly as Theo half-bowed at him. “First Chimera.”

“Guardian Prime.”

Connor waited for Theo to leave, only turning his back on the chimera once he had passed the third pillar. “Curious.” He whispered to himself, returning to the front of the hall, the Emperor looking at him with a frown. Connor felt the pull of his leg muscles toward his master, and he climbed the steps of the dais, kneeling in front of Him. “Emperor?”

“What did Theo want?”

“Reports of heretics, master, the First Chimera wishes to join me and the Faithful in investigating the claims and destroying them, should it prove correct.” 

“Hmm,” The Emperor tapped His fingers on the armrests of the throne, glancing at him, “What’s your take on that?”

“I don’t know, master, he seemed genuine.”

“Theo is very good at _seeming_ genuine. Take the Faithful with you, and be careful, Connor.”

“As You command, Emperor.” He stood up, bowed stiffly, and walked backwards down the steps, returning to his original position as another supplicant entered the room. 

 

“…so, the Surgeon pulls out his cane and says, ‘That’s the last of them!’” Theo finished his story with a smirk as Stiles roared with laughter and Corey sniggered into his glass. “Pretty good, right?”

“I never get tired of your were-rabbit stories, Theo.” Corey grinned at him across the table, the older chimera nodding and cutting his duck breast in half. “It’s been a while since you’ve told us one though.”

“Well, all is good in the Empire now,” He swallowed and cleared his throat, meeting Stiles’ eyes. “Good at the top anyway.”

“Yeah,” Corey nodded happily, glancing at Stiles, the Emperor smiling at them both. It was a stark contrast to the week before when Connor had still been missing and the storm was battering Victory City. Now the evening sun was a ball of orange and red fire, setting in the western horizon, and the air around him was still pleasantly warm, allowing Corey to let his shirt remain unbuttoned. That seemed to have been the right choice based on the way Theo’s eyes kept dipping down from his face towards the stripe of skin visible under his open collar. 

“Master?” Connor stepped closer, handing Stiles a tablet. “Report from Archon Whittemore’s territory.”

“What is it?” Stiles frowned, scanning the screen, glass halfway to his lips. “Attacked?”

“Yes, Emperor, it appears that a squad of chimera soldiers were responding to a disturbance to one of the supply lines that goes through the Amazon and have not reported in.” Connor tapped the screen, bringing up another page. “They, in fact, have vanished.”

“Vanished, huh?” Stiles glanced at him and then looked at Corey, before turning back to Connor. “Contact Chimera Intelligence and see what they can dig up but remain here.”

“As You command, Emperor.” Connor stepped back. 

“Hmm,” Corey frowned at his plate as the other two continued to eat normally. _That was pretty odd-not the attack, Jackson is still finding his feet as an actual chimera Archon, but Theo didn’t even bat an eyelid when Connor came up to us. Usually his expression goes sour and he’s mean as fuck after, but now, he’s totally fine? Ok, what the hell is going on?_

“Earth to Corey!” Theo called out, breaking the younger chimera from his thoughts. He flushed and looked up.

“What?”

“We were just wondering where you went?” Stiles smirked at him as Theo laughed. “You ok?”

“Yeah, of course, just…it doesn’t matter.” 

“Good, I am in the mood for desert.” Theo murmured, gesturing at the servants standing in the alcove behind Connor. “Come!”

“While he’s picking out his favorite chocolate cake,” Stiles stood up and gestured for Corey to join him, “We’ll take a walk.” The Alpha Chimera waited for Corey to untie Growler’s lead from the chair next to him, the puppy jumping up and down and yipping excitedly. “This way.” Stiles pointed towards the rooftop arboretum. Once they had made it past the first few trees and Corey released Growler from his lead, Stiles spoke again. “So, what’s on your mind?”

“Nothing. Why?”

“Because you seem distracted.” Stiles reached out to touch one of the palm trees, looking up the trunk and then at the rest of the ziggurat as the palace rose behind them, dark and imposing, lights flickered around it, but the stone exterior remained smooth and unlit. “In fact, you’ve been distracted ever since Garrett was transferred into house arrest. Something you want to tell me, Corey?”

“You only ask that when you know the answer, Stiles.” He shook his head. “But I’m not getting back with him, if that’s what you’re afraid of.”

“We care about you, Corey, Theo and I. You know that, right?”

“I know.” The younger chimera nodded. “But let’s face it, you guys always love drama happening between you, some sort of excitement or argument to feed off. It’s like you _want_ to be fighting, but not hurting each other, just using the energy to pull each other closer. I don’t like that.”

“Hmm, true, I suppose.” Stiles shrugged. “That’s why you’re so good for us, Corey, keep us balanced without the craziness.”

“Huh, I don’t want to be the balance.” He sighed, shaking his head. “Well, I do, but I don’t want that to be the only reason I’m with you and Theo and not…with someone else.”

“Someone like Garrett?”

“Look, I know, he tried to take over the world and used his Ghost Rider army to oppose you,” Corey folded his arms, Growler running back to sit next to him, tail wagging and looking up expectantly. “I don’t have a treat for you, puppy.”

“Lucky for you, Growler, I carry treats when I know I’ll be with Corey!” Stiles grinned and reached into his pocket, tossing the snack into the air. “Hup! Ugh…” He stared as the dog fell over trying to catch the treat.

“He’s not old enough for tricks yet, Stiles.” Corey muttered reproachfully. “And you ruined my point. I was gonna say that Garrett did something crazy and stupid and he sacrificed everything on something that was never going to work, but does it matter? He failed, he’s a chimera, and you said it yourself, he’s kinda hot!”

“Never mind how hot Garrett is, I want to know if you still love him enough that you want to get back together?” Stiles glanced over his shoulder, confirming Connor’s presence nearby. “Corey?”

“No, Stiles, I don’t want that.” Corey answered after a moment of staring out at the city sprawled in front of them. “I might complain about you and Theo sometimes, but I’m not gonna leave you two to implode when one of your arguments go too far.”

“That’s part of it, but it’s not everything to me, Corey. You should to stay with us only if _you_ want to.”

“I do!” 

“Good, I think Theo has had enough time to decide.” Stiles gestured for Corey to walk ahead of him, pausing to look at Connor. “You spoke to Chimera Intelligence?” 

“Yes, master, they’re investigating.”

“Hmm.” 

“Is there anything else You require?”

“Got plans?” Stiles smirked at him, reaching towards Connor before thinking better of it. “Hmm?”

“I live to serve You, master, but I wouldn’t mind spending an hour or two in the gym this evening.” Connor replied stiffly, his gaze directed to Stiles’ left, across the bay. “But it matters not, I can-”

“No, it’s fine.” Stiles forced himself to smile, disliking the sudden awkwardness he had caused between them. “You can go once we return to my quarters, Corey suggested earlier that we stay in and watch some of those new TV shows that feature chimeras. Seen any?”

“Can’t say I have, master.” Connor shook his head, following Stiles back to the dinner table. “But some of the other Guardians say that _Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D._ has some very good chimera actors and build the storylines in well. Perhaps that will be of interest to you?”

“I’ll check it out.” Stiles sat down, a smirk playing about his lips as he looked at the six different types of cake arranged in front of Theo. It was one of the chimera’s most unusual quirks, but Theo only indulged like this when he was truly happy and content. “Got enough?”

“Almost, there’s another one coming.” He grinned, licking his fork and glanced at Connor. “Guardian Prime, want a slice?”

“No, thank you, First Chimera.”

“Huh, ok.” Theo shrugged, ignoring the stares Corey and Stiles were giving him. “I thought he might want some.”

 

Scott stumbled forward as he and Liam were led into the gathering of tents around a generator and grouped floodlights that made up the werewolf pack’s camp. Brett had remained hidden in the trees surrounding the clearing, saying that they stood a better chance if the rebels saw the werewolves they were expecting. Scott agreed at the time, but he wasn’t so sure now; almost all the werewolves around them had glowing blue eyes, only the very young children were watching him with yellow stares. They were pushed together in front of the largest tent, the flap thrown back almost immediately, a large Alpha emerging, red eyes burning in the darkness of the night, his claws were long and sharp, already extended. Scott wetted his lips and stepped forward. “Hi, I’m-”

“Scott McCall, we know.” The Alpha crossed his arms, looking him up and down. “The legend proceeds you, True Alpha, though as they say, I thought you’d be taller!”

“Haha, I get that a lot.” Scott smiled, his expression friendly. “I hear you’ve been searching for me?”

“You could say that.” The man gestured around him. “I control the remains of seventeen packs, nearly seventy werewolves, but there should be hundreds here! The chimeras have butchered us; we run, we resist, they just kill more.”

“Have you considered surrendering?” Liam asked, hearing a chorus of low growls. “If only to save the remainder of your pack?”

“And what, be turned into a lapdog like you?” The Alpha laughed, a booming voice that echoed across the camp. He shook his head as Liam’s expression grew tight. “That’s right, we know you serve the Chimera Emperor, that you rolled over, betrayed Kira Yukimura, the one rebel fighter who went far enough.”

“Liam?” Scott glanced at him, brows pulled together. “Is this true? You serve Stiles?”

“Well, it’s a little more complex than that.” Liam held up his hands, giving Brett the signal as he backed away towards the generator, his way unblocked. “But then again, it is pretty simple. I serve the Chimera Emperor, and so does Scott!” The chimera jumped backwards, grabbing one of the electrical wires and snapping it out, the current racing across his body, unaffecting him until Liam slammed his fist into his open hand, a blast of electricity arcing out around him, shocking the nearest werewolves to him, Scott diving out of the way.

“Rawrr, take them!” Brett shouted out from the shadows, charging forward with the two Osprey pilots behind him, the Elemental chimeras unleashing bolts of lightning at the closest werewolves, knocking them unconscious. He shoulder-charged the one nearest Scott and smashed her to the ground. “Don’t just stand there, fight them!”

“But-” Scott’s protest died on his lips as the Alpha’s claws slashed through the air, catching him across the chest and throwing him to the ground. Brett managed to dance away from the attack, his increased chimera agility allowing him to dodge almost every swipe the werewolves threw at him. Scott crawled away from the fighting towards Liam, muttering to himself, “So much for talking.” His chest wasn’t bleeding, and Scott looked down through his torn shirt at the rapidly healing skin, the glint of hardened plates under the blood making him do a double-take. “Chimera powers, I guess.” He popped up close to Liam, before ducking as a hail of assault rifle fire sprayed the clearing, tearing into a bunch of werewolves and taking Liam down in a hail of bullets. 

“Ah!”

“Liam!” Scott stayed crouched but ran as quickly as he could over to his former Beta. “Liam?”

“Ow! Fuck! Ah!” Liam moaned, writhing in pain on the ground, the bullets having shredded through his arms, shoulder, and chest. “Fuck, that hurts!”

“What do I do?” Scott asked him, panic creeping into his voice, reaching down to take the pain, but having his hands pushed away. “Liam? Talk to me!”

“Get the attacker.”

“Right, ok, ok, I can do that.” Scott squeezed his uninjured shoulder and got up, using the tents for cover as the gunfire stopped, the tell-tail sound of the gun being reloaded giving him precious time to get to where Brett and the other two chimeras were crouched down. “Who on earth brings a gun to a werewolf fight?!”

“Not one of them, that’s for sure.” Brett muttered, glancing at the pilots. “Either of you know how to do the Electric Lattice tactic?”

“Yeah, we know it.” The co-pilot nodded, standing up when Brett did. The air took on an unnerving hum that made Scott’s teeth itch, and suddenly dozens of bands of electricity sprang out around them, weaving across each other to form a cage that trapped him and Brett inside with the pilots.

“Uh, guys?” Scott stood up quickly, staying close to Brett as they started to move forward. Whoever had the gun began firing again, but the chimera stared in surprise as the constantly moving bands of electricity protected them from the bullets, the metal projectiles bouncing off with a charged zing. “Wow, cool.”

“Don’t get shocked, now, Scott.” Brett muttered darkly, holding up a hand for them to stop in the middle of the camp where Scott had started out. The gunfire had halted again, and a disturbingly familiar laugh echoed out of the trees.

“Well, that’s a useful trick.” Gerard Argent emerged from the treeline and tossed the rifle to one side. “Color me impressed, chimeras.”

“You?” Scott whispered, staring at the hunter.

“Me.” He gestured around the camp at the groaning werewolves. “I know, I know, why am I here? Am I with them? Am I with you? Questions, questions. And you, Scott, I didn’t think that you would have joined the enemy, especially not one that killed all your friends, that, hell, _killed_ you!”

“He doesn’t really have a choice,” Brett called out, nodding for the chimeras to drop the Electric Lattice, and raising his voice. “Scott serves the Emperor now, an offer that is extended to any werewolf here who will join in the divine unity of our Chimera Empire!”

“Hard to argue with a fanatic, isn’t it, Scott?” Gerard called out, moving closer to them and kicking over the Alpha werewolf, his face scored by claws and slightly smouldering from bolts of lightning. “But can’t argue with their results. In two and a half years, Stiles and his chimera army has managed to do something that hunters haven’t been able to even come close to achieving: almost all the werewolves are gone now. A handful here, a handful there. It took me months to collect this mangy bunch, not that they proved much of a threat, hmm?”

“Why?” Scott stared at him. “Why resist at all then, if you just want the werewolves dead?”

“Because he fights for humanity.” Brett explained with a sneer. “You think you’re subtle, Argent, but Chimera Intelligence have been tracking you for months, showing up all over the territories; rallying humans in the ruins of New York, fermenting dissent in the agricultural heartlands, trying to organize the werewolves across the planet.”

“The Emperor wants to turn every remaining human in the world into a chimera!” Gerard shouted at them, “Someone has to fight them, Scott, I thought you’d be on our side. Stiles killed everyone! Stiles butchered Kira in front of thousands of screaming fanatics! Stiles even took your-”

“Now!” Brett muttered urgently, the pilot lashing out with a bolt of lightning, smashing into Gerard and spearing through his shoulder. “Get back to the Osprey and get it in the air, we’re pulling out!”

“I thought I was in charge!” Scott protested, trying to pursue Gerard, but Brett grabbed his arm and pulled him back.

“Your mission is to convert the werewolves, not chase after hunters!” He snarled as Scott twisted out of his grip, storming after Gerard, the hunter having crawled into the Alpha’s tent. “Fool!”

Scott ignored him and pushed into the tent, claws out and yellow eyes glowing. He froze as an odd beeping noise reached him. The chimera grabbed a box from the stack that made up one wall of the central area, pulling it out and tossing it to one side, his blood running cold when he saw the large cylinders, the sticks of dynamite stacked in between, and the electric counter sitting on top. “Twenty seconds?!” Scott turned and ran as fast as he could, waving his arms desperately as Brett helped Liam to his feet. “RUN! BOMB!”

“Fucking hunters!” Liam moaned, hobbling away as fast as he could, still bleeding from his slowly recovering wounds. “Ah!” He yelped when Brett scooped him up and sprinted into the trees, ignoring the dozens of werewolves crawling away. Scott was right behind him when the bomb detonated, a wave of fire and smoke exploding outwards and killing anyone who didn’t make it to the relative safety of the forest. Brett threw Liam down behind a fallen tree trunk and dove in after him, his hand popping up to grab the front of Scott’s shirt and haul him behind the tree, a sheet of burning air rushing overhead.

 

Liam raised his head, looking back at the werewolf camp, there was almost nothing left except some charred tent poles and patches of burning ground. Scott had leapt up once the initial blast had finished, rushing into the camp to find Argent, but Brett didn’t stop him, the chimera waiting until the Osprey circled around to land inside the clearing, downdraft from the engines extinguishing the remaining fires. Liam stood as Scott returned, shaking his head. “Argent gone?”

“Yeah, I think so, there were no bodies near the tent, but plenty of dead werewolves out there.” Scott sighed heavily and sank down on the tree trunk. He watched as Brett rounded up the surviving werewolves and pointed at him. “I’m meant to convince them to join an Empire I’m not sure I believe in.”

“Then stop thinking about the big picture.” Liam patted his shoulder, looking at the approaching men and women. “If they refuse to serve the Empire, Brett will kill them all and feel absolutely no remorse for doing so, believing that it is the Emperor’s divine will. He’ll expect us to join in, and Scott, when I say, ‘them all’, I mean every last one.” Liam nodded at the children straggling behind. “Convince them, Scott, for your own soul, if nothing else.”

“Right.” Scott mumbled, standing up as Liam stepped back. He looked at the survivors, the words coming to him as he spoke. “I was once the True Alpha, but I made the mistake of under-estimating the strength of the chimeras around me. The price I paid was…unimaginable, the friends I lost; irreplaceable. They were killed because they resisted, but this is a force you cannot resist. The Empire won, we- _you_ \- lost. Accept it, move on, but move on as chimeras, live as chimeras.” Scott flicked out his claws, seeing Brett and Liam mirror him. “Or die, as werewolves.” He stared as one by one the werewolves knelt down until they were all on their knees.

“Very good, Scott.” Brett called out and pointed at the Osprey. “All of you, get on on-board, you’ll be brought to the Fount of Glory for chimera conversion, and a second chance to live in divine unity of our Chimera Empire!”

 

“What am I looking at here, Corey?” Stiles said, watching at the screen in Corey’s office, a side-by-side comparison photo taking up the entire space. Theo was next to him, looking equally confused, only Connor standing on Stiles’ other side seemed to understand. “Guardian Prime, you know what this is?”

“The Harvester, Emperor.” Connor gestured to the photo on the left. “This is a city…”

“Um, Monterrey.” Corey called out, looking back at his computer. “Yup.”

“Monterrey,” Connor continued. “And the photo on the right is the after-shot, The Harvester came through here, and devoured everything and everyone in its path, down to the microbes in the soil.”

“Everything?” Theo glanced at him, alarmed. “ _Everything?!_ ”

“Do you have a wider view?”

“I was hoping you weren’t going to ask me that.” Corey groaned and pushed a button. The photos disappeared and were replaced by a single large picture, a bizarre strip of dark grey down one part of the screen from the middle of the former state of Kanas all the way to the Pacific Ocean on the other side of Mexico. “It didn’t just take Monterrey.”

“Fuck.” Stiles whispered, staring at the screen. “When did this happen?”

“Um, it wasn’t there when the satellite passed over the area yesterday.” Corey shrugged when they all turned to look at him. “I have the logs, The Harvester did that in less than twenty-four hours. That’s nearly eighteen hundred miles.”

“But it didn’t keep harvesting.” Connor murmured under his breath, tapping the screen thoughtfully. “You said earlier that Archon Whitte-”

“Just use Jackson, dude,” Theo cut across him with a smirk. “That guy’s head is pretty inflated already.”

“Err,” Connor looked at Stiles for help, receiving a nod. “Very well, Jackson’s territory was attacked. Where?”

“Um, hang on, just a moment.” Corey typed quickly, nodding to himself. “Yeah, here is where they lost contact with the squad.” He pointed to the middle of Brazil. “Somewhere here.”

“That’s pretty vague.” Stiles commented, looking at the zoomed-out image of the Amazon Rainforest. “Can’t you narrow it down?”

“Well, we’ve almost got a unique chemical signature from the goop I collected at the, um,” Theo broke off, glancing at Connor sheepishly. “At the prison site. Uh, I need more time to concentrate it down, especially since I’m not sure if our current satellites can ever track that particular signature.”

“We can launch new ones.” Connor said, nodding slowly. “It can be done here, the Jet Propulsion Lab still stands, even if the rebels tried to trash it before we took the city. If we can be sure The Harvester is not waiting to take out any more aircraft, we can bring in everything we need to launch from the undeveloped lands behind the new Imperial High Command.”

“The Generals did say we should have more missile defenses installed,” Stiles grinned at them. “It’s a twofer! Do it, make it happen. In the meantime, Corey, task whatever satellites we have to comb the area that squad vanished in, if The Harvester is building a base in Jackson’s territory, we need to know, we need to find it, and ultimately, we need to kill that monster!”

“Speaking of killing things,” Theo looked at Connor and then at Stiles. “I trust he told you about our little visit yesterday afternoon?”

“Of course, the heretics?”

“That’s right, you’ll be in your snoozefest Council meeting in half an hour, Corey can chase leads on this, and me and Connor can go purge the heretic!” Theo grinned eagerly, his claws sliding out and eyes flashing red before fading back to purple. 

“And you’re alright with this, Connor?” Stiles looked at the Guardian Prime, brow raised.

“Yes, Emperor,” He bowed his head, averting his eyes deferentially. “My sources confirmed that this group is indeed heretical, and they cannot be permitted to continue to exist so close to the Imperial capital. We will ensure that no trace of their blasphemy remains!”

“Very well.” Stiles nodded at Theo, confused by his boyfriend’s keen grin and honest scent. “You’ll be taking backup, I assume?”

“Of course, I’ll take a half company of the Faithful with me and go in from the air; combat drop.” Connor replied, smirking slightly as Stiles’ eyes gleamed.

“Understood.” He nodded to himself. _So, Theo will essentially be outnumbered by a hundred frothing zealots who are utterly devoted to the Guardian Prime? Yeah, whatever he’s planning isn’t going to work, assuming he is planning something. Well, Connor will make sure Theo doesn’t actually die when he tries it._ Stiles watched as Theo held the door open for Connor, following him out, Corey staring at them unashamedly, his mouth open.

“Did we just see the same thing?”

“Theo being polite for once?” Stiles smirked and shook his head. “I’m in the dark as much as you are. He’s plotting, has to be.”

“What if he turned over a new leaf though?” Corey mumbled, blushing when Stiles looked at him. “Yeah, I guess that’s kinda stupid.”

“Oh, well, come find me after the Imperial Council, Theo might find it boring, but the engineers will do all the talking and I just have to approve it.” Stiles shrugged. “I want to spend some time alone with you, anyway.”

“Cool.” 

 

Connor watched Theo warily as the Faithful finished their preparations around them. He was dressed in his usual armor, augmented by a new silver symbol of the Empire moulded into the center of his breastplate. Theo had changed out of his shirt and jeans combo, pulling on the black tactical gear that Connor was used to seeing him in during the war. “You’re clear on the plan, First Chimera?”

“Sure, jump out, smash the roof, box ‘em in, kill all the heretics, have fun!” He grinned at Connor. “But seriously, you gotta stop calling me First Chimera, I know you don’t have that much respect for me, and we’re practically family now, right? Stiles told me that he told you the truth about your connection.”

“I see.” The Guardian Prime nodded curtly. “Very well, Theo, let’s go.” He pointed up the ramp and followed the First Chimera on board. “Coms check: Alpha Team?”

“Present.”

“Beta Team?”

“Confirmed.”

“Acknowledged.” Connor gestured at the pilots. “Both teams confirmed, go for lift-off.”

Theo grabbed the handle near him as the Ospreys took off from the helipads, swinging out across the ocean and back over the city to mask their approach to the heretics’ base. “Uh, you’re keeping the ramp open?”

“Of course,” Connor smirked at him, standing on the edge, gripping the handle overhead. “Don’t want to have to wait around for it lower and give our enemy time to escape. Besides, great view from up here!”

“Sure, I guess.” Theo murmured, moving nearer and keeping a firm grip on the handle closest to him. “The water is really blue!”

“So tell me, Theo, _why_ are you really here?” Connor looked at him with calculating eyes. “You don’t care about our religion, you don’t care about heresy, is it all about getting your claws a little bloody? Just some casual violence to mix up your routine?”

“That’s a big part of it, not gonna lie.” Theo shrugged, staying close enough to Connor so only he could hear his words over the thunder of the engines. “But there’s another angle.”

“I’m shocked.” Connor replied, deadpan.

“Yeah, well, you know us chimeras, always gotta scheme!” Theo grinned at him, his eyes bright as the aircraft finally started its turn over the outskirts of the city. “I know you probably don’t want to admit it, but those few minutes in the blood chamber, you enjoyed beating me up, didn’t you? Sure, I get that you don’t like what I did with it, and the Emperor won’t ever ask you to do it again, but maybe you and I could come to some sort of arrangement?”

Connor stared at him silently for a moment, brows narrowed as he inhaled, breathing in Theo’s aroused scent, a quick glance down to his crotch confirming it. “All about the blood, huh, Theo?”

“Not just the blood, I mean, it’s pretty important to me, and I want to feel it again,” Theo paused, meeting the Guardian Prime’s indecipherable gaze, and then continuing, careful to avoid using Stiles’ actual name. “I love being with the Emperor and I love our dynamic, the friction, the explosive edge, always so close to boiling over, but it never does. No matter what I’ve done, he never turns to violence.”

“I don’t need to hear this, Theo.”

“I think you do.” The First Chimera smiled at him. “The Emperor gives me everything; power, status, wealth-if I want it-and he offered to share that with you. But you said no. So, I guess I’m wondering how you could turn down the power to shape the Empire according to Alpha Chimera’s vision in that way that you, and only you, can do.” Theo gestured at the Faithful sitting silently behind them, his next words hissed quietly. “You have your own army for fuck’s sake! I don’t like admitting it, but it’s true, you _are_ the second most powerful chimera in the entire Empire, only after him. I don’t get why you chose to remain there instead of ascending beside him.”

“I don’t want power, Theo, I serve only the Emperor, whatever He commands is what I do.” Connor shook his head. “I don’t have any ambitions for the throne.”

“Every other chimera would have sold out their best friends for that opportunity!” Theo’s eyes burned into him. “You can’t be that pure!”

“Fine, if I can use my power to glorify the Emperor, then I will, but I don’t want a statue of myself or cities named after me, I will serve Him until I am dead, or until our Empire stretches across hundreds of worlds and chimeras are the dominant lifeform in this galaxy!” Connor smiled coolly at him as the Faithful roared their response behind him. 

“Glory!”

“If its treason you’re testing for, Theo, you won’t find it here.”

“You’re sating my curiosity, that’s all.” The chimera shrugged as though it didn’t matter, glancing out the open ramp as the Ospreys flew low and quickly over the hills to the east of the palace. “We’re close?”

“Yes,” Connor turned away from him and picked up the mike next to the ramp. “Faithful! We are minutes away from breaching a hub of heretical activity. The First Chimera has diligently brought this report to my attention and he will witness first-hand the strength of our unity and devotion to the Emperor! Fight well, fight with glory and He may hear of your loyalty. Glory to the Chimera Emperor!”

“Glory!”

“Two minutes,” Connor muttered, looking at Theo. “Have you ever done a combat drop like this, First Chimera?”

“Only once.” He shrugged. “You’re jumping out, right?”

“I am.” The Guardian Prime pointed at the hooks above him as the Faithful started to move. “Attach the rope here, clip to your belt and jump, the rope will absorb most of the shock, roll and release, and then follow me down. Got it?”

“I got it.” Theo grinned at him, watching as Connor grunted and walked down the ramp, his smile widening as the Guardian Prime kept going, moving onto thin air, confidence dripping off the hard, almost barbed scent that Theo always associated with him. He leaned out as far as he could, seeing Connor fall straight down, smashing into the roof of a sprawling estate house by the beach. “Awesome!”

 

Theo straightened up as the final scream was silenced, grinning at his reflection in a cracked mirror, blood splattered all across his face. The rolled-up sleeves of his fatigues allowed the rich, crimson liquid to spread over his tanned arms, his hands completely stained red. The First Chimera kicked the human’s body to one side and vaulted the balcony, landing in the living room beside Connor. “Hey!”

“Good, you’re alive.” Connor smirked, tossing an RPG at him. “These humans were well-stocked.”

“Your armor…” Theo stared at the smoke covered breastplate, the circle of the Imperial symbol bent of shape. “They fired a rocket at you?! That’s some pretty advanced healing.” He added, flicking his eyes up to Connor’s face, the skin darkened by smoke and castoff blood, but not wounded or scarred. 

“The Emperor gives us strength.” He shrugged and pointed at the pile of Christian idols in the center of the room, looking at one of the Faithful. “Dominick, if you wouldn’t mind purging the false gods from this place. Burn it to the ground.”

“Yes, Guardian Prime.” Dominick nodded at him, his hands igniting as the Elemental chimera’s eyes flared.

“Come, Theo, there are some survivors who have yet to be eradicated.”

“Survivors, huh?” Theo grinned at Connor and followed him outside, looking at the kneeling line of humans on the garden below the pool, both of the Ospreys having landed on the tennis courts nearby. “This was a cushy pad once.”

“Most Imperial citizens prefer to live within visual sight of the Imperial Palace,” Connor explained as they walked towards the humans. “But you can’t see it from here, so not many people live in this part, I don’t think they’re the original owners.” He stopped in front of the survivors, each bound and guarded by a chimera, his expression grim. “You have all surrendered, and yet you are all traitors, worse than traitors: heretics! I’m not sure what you thought might happen here, other than a quick death of course.” The Guardian Prime struck quickly, his long, serrated claws slashing through one of the men’s necks and splattering the ground in front of them with blood. “Rawr!” 

Theo grinned wider and stepped closer as Connor did the same to the next woman, his cock hardening when fresh blood spurted out and sprayed across his face and neck. “Mmh!” He kept close to Connor, allowing the chimera the pleasure of the heretics’ deaths, if only so that he could bathe in the constant castoff, rivers of crimson dripping down his face and arms. When it was over, the First Chimera’s hand shot out and he grabbed Connor’s wrist. “Wait a minute.”

“What?”

“Just wait,” Theo whispered, ignoring his aching, drooling cock for a moment, and cupping one of his hands against his neck, gathering the blood. He smirked and used his fingers to paint the crimson liquid onto Connor’s breastplate, marring the silver symbol. “When we used to go hunting with Garrett, he always drew this, I had St-the Emperor, so I didn’t care as much, but I think I understand why he did that now.” Theo glanced up at Connor’s blood-smeared face and wet his lips unconsciously, voice becoming a low drawl. “He didn’t mind the killing, the Emperor, I mean, he could see that it was what we did, what we did best. But you enjoyed that, right, Connor, killing the unbelievers, right?”

“The Emperor is the only true god, I will suffer no challenger to His divine rule.” Connor replied, smelling Theo’s arousal heavy on the air. “If you wish to take a moment to, hmm, _savour_ our victory here, I will be at the Ospreys. Don’t worry, we won’t leave you behind.”

“Hmm.” Theo nodded and watched him leave, smirking as he plunged his hand into his trousers, Connor glancing back at him with a frown. The First Chimera bit his lip, moaning softly, working the drooling head of his cock and staring at his bloodstained hand, cumming after only a minute or two of jerking off. He wasn’t really paying attention to his dick, closing his eyes as he shot his load across the grass, managing to get his cock out before it was too late. His mind focused on the image of Stiles first, before that left and was replaced by the smell of copper in the air around him, replaying the executions over and over, focusing on the blood spraying against him. “Fuck!” Theo grunted, blinking his eyes. “I have _got_ to do this again!”

 

The house was fully on fire by the time Theo returned to Connor at the Osprey, rotors turning and engines roaring. “Hurry up, Theo, you’re the last one in!”

Theo grinned at him, hearing the light-hearted tone in the Guardian Prime’s voice, but sprinted up the ramp just as the aircraft started lifting off. “Just in time, huh?”

“Yeah.” 

Connor’s face was still covered in gore and smoke, the aggressive energy around him making Theo’s stomach clench in response, as though he wanted to fight, rather than any form of attraction. _I think I’m beginning to understand why the Faithful are so zealous. If I can feel that energy off him, just imagine what someone who actually believes that he’s the Emperor’s Prophet would be like!_

“Something on your mind, First Chimera?” Connor’s voice cut across his thoughts, and Theo realized he’d been just staring at the Guardian Prime for the past minute.

“No, not really.”

“Uh huh.”

“Sound like you still don’t trust me, Connor.” Theo smirked at him, quirking his brows. “I haven’t even tried to betray you this mission!”

“We’re ten minutes from home, there’s still time.” Connor returned the smirk, his voice relaxed even though Theo could hear his slightly raised heart-beat and see the tension in his muscles.

“Right.” Theo nodded, forcing his eyes away from the blood-covered warrior and out the open ramp. _He’s a lot like Stiles, maybe that’s why the Alpha Chimera likes him so much; pure vanity and ego? Hmm, but there’s a different energy to Connor, a sort of violent spur that’d cut you if you got him wrong. I like that. Stiles doesn’t see the fanatic in him, it’s fascinating, and if we could make this a regular thing? If Corey does leave us for Garrett, and we needed balance? Hmm, I can think of worse things after what I just enjoyed._ The Osprey tilted backwards as it began to land, jolting Theo from his train of thought, his arm grabbed by Connor to prevent him from falling out. “Thanks!”

“The Emperor would not be happy if His favorite chimera died on my watch.” The Guardian Prime grunted, holding onto him until they touched down. “We should make our report to Him once we get cleaned up.”

“Clean up? Nah,” Theo shook his head, stepping onto the asphalt. He gestured at his appearance. “These are the colors of victory, Connor! Wear it with pride!”

 

Stiles frowned at Corey as he sat on the throne, holding the ornate crown the younger chimera had just presented him with. The heavy gold construction was studded with gems the size of his thumbnail and encrusted with amethysts along the edges of the arches rising over the top to the round circle and three spikes that represented unity, loyalty, and glory. They too were cast in gold and dripping with diamonds and sapphires. He turned it over, lips twitching as he saw the purple interior. “It’s…nice.”

“Yeah, well, you’re an Emperor, but you don’t have a crown.” Corey flushed, biting his nails nervously. “It’s never sat right with me that you have a throne and a grand palace and everything, and everyone kneels before you, but you have no crown. It’s just-”

“Hey, no, it’s great, Corey.” Stiles smiled at him. “Who designed it? Them?” He nodded at the group of humans kneeling at the foot of the dais, their eyes normal while the chimeras in the hall echoed Stiles’ purple orbs. 

“No, Greenberg helped me with the design,” Corey replied, “He said it would make you look really imperial, and then those humans are the ones who actually made it, they’re really talented, right?”

“Right,” Stiles agreed with him, offering the crown back to Corey. “Keep it for now, and talk to Greenberg about an official coronation ceremony, he’ll enjoy organizing that.” 

“Ok, cool.” Corey grinned and turned away, hefting the heavy piece onto the cushion carried by one of the Guardians, the craftsmen bowing and hurrying away. “Take that back to the Minister for Chimera Enlightenment, he’ll know what to do.”

“Corey,” Stiles called out, gesturing for the younger chimera to return to his side. “I believe I see Scott and his team returning. That’s them, yes?”

“Yeah.” Corey nodded, glancing towards the approaching chimeras. “Do you want to take them in another room?”

“No, here is fine.” The Chimera Emperor stood up, walking down the steps, and waiting for Scott, Liam, and Brett to sink to their knees in front of him. “Good afternoon.”

“Glory to you, Chimera Emperor!” Brett and Liam shouted the response, Scott lagging behind, though only by a second or two.

“Close enough.” Stiles gestured for them to rise. “Scott, were you successful?”

“Partially,” The chimera shrugged. “Some of them will become members of the Empire, others were killed, and yet more were blown up.”

“Really?”

“Gerard Argent was there, almost killed Liam, almost killed us!” Scott replied angrily.

“You’re sure it was him?”

“He spoke to us, Emperor.” Liam broke in before Scott could respond. “It was Argent, he said he was fighting with the werewolves only to take the Empire down, but he still rigged enough explosives to take out the entire camp and give us a good scorching.”

“Hmm.” Stiles frowned, catching Brett’s eye for a moment before nodding. “I understand. Continue with your report.” _So, Argent took the bait? Good, that will keep him away from my cities and give Scott a “bad guy” to chase, he likes those. And the hunter is an old enemy, if Brett managed to keep him talking just long enough to quirk Scott’s interest…no way Argent would miss the opportunity to use that titbit of information about the child to push Scott off-balance. Yes, keeping Gerard alive has finally paid off._ “Very good.” Stiles waved away Liam’s report with his hand. “You have both served me as I expected you would.”

“Glory to you, Chimera Emperor!”

“And you, Scott, you have also done well.” Stiles glanced to one side, his brows lifting when he saw Theo and Connor returning, blood-stained and looking as though they had just stepped out of a battlefield from the European campaign. The two chimeras bowed before him, Stiles frowning as he took in their strangely cordial scents and the way they seemed to be relaxed around each other. _Strange allies, but not the strangest I’ve ever seen. I wonder…_ Stiles snapped his attention back to Scott, his former friend waiting patiently in front of him. “As I said, Scott, very good work. So good in fact, that I no longer need to look after you with such care. You will receive a combat squad in the coming days to help you convert the werewolves that are still out there; Chimera Intelligence will assign you missions as they come up. I’m sure you’ll want to track Gerard Argent down too, he did kill a lot of people that could’ve served our glorious Empire, hmm?”

“Uh, yeah, I mean, yes, Emperor.” Scott bobbed his head down. “He certainly had some interesting ideas about your plans, but, uh, he’s too dangerous to, um, bring in, right?”

“Correct.” Stiles turned away, gesturing for Connor and Theo to join him and Corey. “That is all, Scott, you may leave.”

“Oh, um, glory to you, Chimera Emperor.”

 

Stiles left the confused chimera behind and gathered Theo, Corey, and Connor around him as they ascended in a nearby elevator. “Your mission was successful, Connor?”

“Yes, Emperor, the heretics have been executed and their base of operations destroyed.” The Guardian Prime answered with a stern nod.

“It was pretty awesome to see him in his element, Stiles; blood flying, fragile human bodies shredded, their heretical lies burning before the fury of the righteous!” Theo grinned eagerly at them, even as Corey shrank back a little. “Seriously, if I had known being a zealot was this much blood-soaked fun, I would have signed up long ago! Hope there’s another group of traitors soon!”

“Um, great.” Stiles blinked, remembering that Theo had been exactly like this after their time in the blood chamber. He was practically _giddy._ “Well, tamp down the enthusiasm for a moment, Theo, your unlikely friendship with the Guardian Prime has given me an idea. As you all know, I used the power of the Ghost Riders as a sacrifice to pull Scott back into the world of the living, well, they were part of the ritual. But I didn’t really explain the _how._ ”

“I wasn’t expecting you to,” Theo shrugged, following Stiles as they stepped out onto the floor containing the Emperor’s Quarters. “It’s another of your secrets, we’re used to it by now.”

“Hmm, well, prepare to have it revealed.” Stiles smirked at them and entered the apartment, walking across the living room to where the secret elevator was hidden. “I’m not sure we’ll all fit inside though.”

“Stiles?” Corey frowned. “I don’t understand.”

“This Harvester, it’s strong, fast, can do things that we’ve never encountered before.” The Chimera Emperor shrugged. “Perhaps we can take it on and win, we probably can, but I sacrificed tens of thousands of Ghost Rider souls into the swirling vortex that is the Hellscape, feeding an ancient power. In turn, it gave me Scott back, but its debt isn’t paid, not by a long shot. We’re about to descend, and I’ll show you the secret that no one else in the whole world knows about: the gate to the Hellscape.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We'll see Scott again in a few chapters, but I'm about to focus fully on The Harvester arc from now on.


	5. Adversary

“The Hellscape.” Connor muttered, glancing at the Emperor and nodding to himself as the four of them hurtled down into the depths of the Imperial Palace. “I know that name.”

“Not as well as I do.” Theo looked at him, his scent edged with fear, skin pale under the dried blood. “It’s not a place we want to go.”

“It’s a tool, just like anything else.” The Emperor replied firmly, his expression confident and the hint of a smile twitching his lips. “You will see, it’s not the first time I’ve called on the power contained within it.”

“Hmm.” Theo chewed his lip nervously. “I remember, you told me about it after the Ghost Riders, but I thought you lost the ability to access it when you broke the sword? That the rod was only a means to push the Ghost Riders through?”

“The Hellscape cannot be simply opened like a door, though it appears to us in that form once the connection has been established. Instead, for the first opening it requires a focus, like Kira’s sword, or the Entrance Rod.” The Chimera Emperor explained, the elevator slowing. “But none of that matters if you do not possess the abilities of the Skinwalkers themselves, and now that they are all dead, I alone control their power. I have spent some time between our many conquests to study and explore and plunder its depths for power and advantages. There are…well, you’ll see in a few minutes.” He gestured towards the doors as they slid apart, gently pushing Corey out first, the youngest chimera having remained silent throughout the journey. “Go.”

“It looks like the missile silos.” Corey muttered, glancing around at the cold grey walls and smooth concrete edges. He moved closer to Theo as the Emperor approached the massive steel slab that took up an entire wall. “That’s a door?”

“Blast door.” Connor nodded, “I’ve seen similar ones in other Imperial facilities. Immensely strong, able to contain anything and withstand everything up to a direct hit from a nuke.”

“I needed to be careful.” The Emperor glanced back at him after entering his password. “I couldn’t risk anything escaping, or anyone getting in, from either side.”

“This is the only entrance...” Theo pointed out, stepping through the door as the engine whined and pulled the meters-thick blast door open. “And there isn’t anything in here. What the hell, Stiles? I thought you said there was a-”

“Use your eyes, Theo, and look a little closer.” He pointed towards the center of the room, letting Corey walk ahead of him, before holding out a hand to keep Connor at his side. 

“The circular ring,” Theo nodded, walking around the edge, frowning at the strange letters carved above it on the stone floor and the smooth, metal doors pushed into the center, a barely visible line running down the middle of the circle. “Clever.”

“You might want to step back, First Chimera.” Connor said, gesturing with his head as Theo nodded again, moving out of the way. “Emperor? What does this Hellscape have to do with defeating The Harvester? You described it as only a way to destroy the Ghost Riders and use their sacrifice to fuel the ritual, I don’t understand how it can be used for anything else.”

“Power.” The Chimera Emperor smirked at him. “Power, my Guardian Prime, terrible power is at my fingertips; the power to remake a world or defend it from our enemies. Come closer and you will see.”

Connor stood beside Theo, sharing a glance with the First Chimera. “This feels wrong, master.”

“It probably should, this is a place where no one from our world has ever set foot, except for me, Corey, and Theo.”

“That wasn’t by choice.” Theo shivered, backing away. “I know The Harvester seems hard to beat, but there must be another way, I’m not willingly going back inside.”

“Stiles,” Corey spoke again after examining the runes carved around the edge of the ring. “I don’t understand. The Hellscape is here?”

“The entrance, yes.” The Emperor placed his hands onto Corey’s shoulders from behind, reassuring him with a squeeze. “Don’t worry, I know what I’m doing, I’ve done it before.”

“Clearly!” The younger chimera glared at them. “Why am I always the last one to find out?!”

“I told Theo after the battle because he demanded to know, he doesn’t really like it when I keep secrets from him.” A smile touched his lips and the Emperor gestured at Connor. “And the Guardian Prime needed an overview in order to complete his mission in the Fount of Glory and meet Brett to finalize the ritual that returned Scott as a chimera.”

“And I didn’t need to know?” Corey sighed as they looked at him apologetically. “Ok, it’s fine, I guess.”

“Hmm, I have told you all bits and pieces of the story, but not the whole story.” The Chimera Emperor gestured at the metal doors. “Pull them back, please.” Connor and Theo moved to comply, hauling the heavy iron panels up and out, the two chimeras freezing as the shimmering blue of the portal came into view. The doors locked into place, remaining upright, the void filled by crystalized images that danced back and forth in the indistinctness of the portal. “The Hellscape…isn’t it beautiful?” The Emperor smiled at it, a mad gleam in his purple eyes.

 

“That’s one word for it.” Theo muttered, stepping away immediately, remembering all too well the last time he was in a position to see the portal. “I don’t like this, I don’t like seeing my cell again!”

“Is that what you see?” Stiles sounded curious, ushering Corey around to peer at it. “What do you see, Corey?”

“Hmm, blue sands, the smouldering city, that dead forest. Why?”

“And you, Connor?”

“I have never been to the Hellscape, master, the image keeps changing as though trying to decide what it should be.” The Guardian Prime replied slowly. “First, I see a massive white pillar threaded in gold, but then it’s the blue sands like Corey just said, and now it’s…a gaping wound in the earth, nothing but darkness at its core.”

“The Maw.” Stiles nodded happily. “That’s what I’ve been calling the entity that lives within, and seems to control, the Hellscape. And it is this that we will be communicating with shortly.”

“The Maw?” Theo echoed, eyes watering as the image before him flickered and twisted, turning into a puckered chasm with just the pinprick of light in the distance as he hovered over it. The chimera managed to rip his eyes away and glared at Stiles. “What the hell is that thing?”

“I can only speculate based on what I’ve read and what our researchers have come up with.” Stiles shrugged as his boyfriend’s eyes narrowed. “You know that I have research facilities across the world, one of which was focused on the recovery and examination of any evidence that would explain the mysteries of the Hellscape and the power of necromancy the Skinwalkers seemed to have over it.”

“What did you discover?” Corey asked, leaving Connor to stare into the depths of the portal, and joining Stiles next to a sleek black computer. 

“The Hellscape is not another dimension into which we can enter at will,” Stiles smirked as he paused dramatically, and Theo rolled his eyes. “It is, in fact, another planet altogether. I believe that this Maw has been able to manipulate and master the rules of time, space, and gravity to take complete control of its world and generate links between our two worlds.”

A silence greeted his words, Theo staring at him while Corey frowned, trying to understand. “So, it’s a planet with some sort of supernatural creature that allowed Theo to get trapped, and then you poured the Ghost Riders into its mouth in order to get the power you needed to bring back Scott?”

“That’s about it!”

“And now you think it’s going to help with The Harvester?” Corey scrunched his nose up. “When did our lives get so complicated?!”

“Around the time I declared myself Chimera Emperor.” Stiles replied with a smirk, throwing his arms around their shoulders. “C’mon, it’ll be fun!”

“Not sure what part of it could qualify as fun,” Theo muttered darkly. “Right, Guardian Prime?”

“I agree, it seems dangerous to try and use this power, Emperor.” Connor returned from the portal, a worried crease across his brow. “What do You hope to gain from making an alliance with a creature that is not a chimera, and has, for all intents and purposes, devoured its home world? How is it any different to The Harvester?”

“We had an agreement, The Maw and I, it will honor our deal.” Stiles replied firmly. “The Harvester is strong, based on your report and what Corey told us about its trip down south, it could leave the world barren and lifeless in a matter of weeks. I will take every opportunity, every chance to stop that from happening. I alone rule this world, it is _mine!_ ”

“Of course, Emperor.” Connor bowed low, his gaze on the floor. “What is Your command?”

“We’re going in.” Stiles swept back across the room, kneeling in front of the portal and sticking his hand into the shimmering, blue wall. He grinned savagely as the doorway shuddered and became opaque for a moment, before clearing and showing him the edge of The Maw. “I have communicated with the entity from here, but your idea of an alliance, Connor, that must be agreed in person.”

“My idea?”

“Come, you will all join me.” The Alpha Chimera glanced back at Theo, seeing him shake his head furiously. “There is nothing to fear, with the powers of the Skinwalkers, I can reopen the portal at will.”

“I’m not going back!” Theo folded his arms resolutely. “That place held me prisoner for years!”

“It was only a few weeks.”

“To you!” The First Chimera looked at Connor’s raised brow. “You don’t know what it was like down there, it was…awful.”

“The Emperor has given you a command.” He responded coldly. “There is no option but to comply, unless, of course, is that fear I smell?”

“What?” Theo glared at his smirk and squared his shoulders. “I’m not afraid!”

“Well, I’d hope not, slaughtering heretics and bathing in their blood is all very well and good, _First Chimera,_ but what happens when you face a real threat?!”

“Fine!” Theo snarled, baring his claws, “Let’s go!” He grabbed Corey by the arm and marched him to the edge of the portal, whispering so only the younger chimera could hear him. “Take my hand and don’t let me go when we’re on the other side.”

“Uh, ok, but I don’t-”

His protests were cut off as Theo leapt through the portal and dragged Corey with him. Stiles grinned at Connor. “Nicely played, Guardian Prime.”

“The First Chimera’s emotions are always close to the surface, and he is easy to read,” Connor stood next to him at the doorway, waiting for Stiles to go first. “Especially now that we have shared a blood-letting together, he seems to…like me.”

“Trust me, I’m as confused as you are!” Stiles patted his shoulder and jumped into the portal, Connor following him a moment later.

 

“Liam!” Philip hugged him tight as soon as the chimera entered the apartment, “I thought you’d never get home!”

“I was gone for a day, two, at most.” He frowned but accepted the affection, hugging his boyfriend back. “Are you ok? Did something happen while I was gone?”

“Err, no, not really.” The Manticore released him, taking his hand instead and leading him over to the couch. “I just spent some time with Mason yesterday and, err, overheard some rumors while he was introducing me to the other engineers.”

“Yeah?”

“Apparently, The Retreat has been finished at last.” 

“The Retreat?” Liam nodded, “That’s the town that the Emperor had built in the Rockies, right? A taste of Beacon Hills before it became the Fount of Glory?”

“And where loyal humans of the Empire are being transferred to,” Philip paused, looking at him carefully. “Any that are too old to be turned into chimeras, like your parents.”

“What?”

“Yeah, but don’t worry, I talked to Nick about it.” The chimera smiled. “He said that the Emperor’s father is already there; he’s taken charge of the town itself, kinda like its Mayor, I guess, and you said he was a good man.”

“Yeah, the Sheriff keeps people safe.” Liam muttered. After a moment of silence, he nodded. “So, did you hear if Scott is going to end up there after he’s finished pacifying the werewolves?”

“I believe that’s the plan, though Nick wouldn’t tell me, and the only ones higher than us are the Triumvirate or the Guardian Prime, and they won’t say anything.” Philip shrugged. “Honestly, we shouldn’t even be thinking about whether Scott will get to The Retreat or not. Since you left, Victory City has been buzzing with news of some new threat.”

“The Harvester.” Liam admitted. “Brett says that it’s the monster that took Connor and tried to corrupt him, spreading by some sort of goop. We found a bunch of it by the shattered stump of the Nemeton. Scott wanted to land to check it out.” He added when Philip frowned. “I think that only made things worse for him; knowing how many had died to bring him back.”

“Is he still loyal?”

“I’m not sure ‘loyal’ is what I’d call it,” He sighed, interlinking his hands with the other chimera’s fingers. “Scott is too much like himself, but I told him he needs to focus on the little picture and save the lives of werewolves when he can, instead of trying to turn back the clock and ‘save’ the Emperor.”

“The Emperor does not need _saving!_ ” Philip bristled indignantly. “He is exactly where He ought to be. Scott should remember that the Emperor returned him to destroy the werewolf threat forever, and not as a rebel leader.”

“I know, I think he does, but Chimera Intelligence know how to keep their assets on a short leash, so let's not worry too much.” Liam smirked. “Anyway, enough about him, you said you missed me?”

“Oh yeah, my bed was really lonely last night!” Philip looked mournfully at him and bit his lip as Liam pulled him into his lap, eyes closing as they began to make out. “Guess we can remedy that now, huh?”

“Oh, shut up and kiss me!”

 

“Ah!” Corey grunted as he landed on his knees, Theo helping him upright. The Hellscape was completely different to the last time he had been here. The sky above was thick with a scattering of stars and several moons hung in orbit around the planet, their surfaces appearing very close to him. “Ooh, the werewolves would be pretty confused here, huh?”

“I guess…” Theo muttered, his gaze fixed on the vast crater in front of them. It stretched as far as he could see in either direction along the flat, barren plain, and the gulf between them and the other side was dozens of miles across, only the glint of something metallic in the distance telling him that the vastness did not stretch all across the planet. “Is this…”

“The Maw.” Stiles answered for him, landing with a gentle thump behind him, as the Guardian Prime left a mini crater of his own, the armored greaves breaking through the thin crust of earth and onto a deep layer of dry bones. “Charming.”

“Ugh, thanks.” Connor nodded gratefully to Theo and Corey as they pulled him out. “What now, master?”

“Now, we wait, and see if The Maw is willing to talk.” Stiles replied with an eager grin, taking the Entrance Rod from his pocket and holding it out like an offering. The world was utterly silent around them, not even a whisper of a breeze, though there was nothing for it to blow against, the world of the Hellscape was a lifeless husk. 

“There!” Corey pointed suddenly, staring as black smoke spiralled out of the chasm, the vague shape of something solid emerging with the column, and moving closer to them. “Stiles?”

“It’s ok.” He nodded at Theo and let the First Chimera take Corey’s hand as he raised his own. “Greetings, Maw!”

“Greetings to you, Chimera Emperor.” The voice was dry and deep, seemingly coming from everywhere at once, the shape in front of them coalescing into an approximation of a human, the legs lost in the shadows that sustained it from the depths below. There was no face, not exactly, but Corey stared at the disturbingly familiar purple orbs watching them. “And greetings to your court also. What occasion brings you to my domain, in person too?”

“I am here to talk, and you are here to listen.” The Emperor replied, raising his head as a plume of fire flared out of The Maw and cast the shadowy figure further into darkness. “You have enjoyed the added power of the Ghost Riders?”

“They make an excellent energy source.” It agreed, gesturing broadly. “And they fueled your ritual as agreed, Emperor.”

“There were thousands of them, tens of thousands, surely you didn’t give them all back to me in energy to rip Scott from the immortal coil?”

“You want them back?” The voice spoke in his direction even as the purple orbs darted over to stare at Connor unblinkingly.

“No.” Stiles grinned. “I want something else. This is the Guardian Prime, you have not met him before.”

“True,” The entity floated closer to them as Connor stiffened protectively. “These others have been here before, but this one is new.”

“You cannot have him, he is far too valuable.” The Emperor glared and stepped in front of Connor. “I was going to come here and demand that you give me aid against my new enemy, but why would I do that when we can both benefit from an alliance?”

“And this one gave you insight?” The Maw kept its gaze on the Guardian Prime for a moment longer, before turning and nodding at the Emperor. “What do you want, and what do you offer?”

“I want power, just like always, power to destroy my enemy. We call it The Harvester, it corrupts and consumes with every touch, taking any chimera, any human, any supernatural, any animal as its slave and seeks my death, the destruction of my Empire. I will not allow this to happen!” Stiles glared at the flickering purple orbs. “You can have an abundance of souls in return.”

“The Harvester…” The figure swayed from side to side. “I know of what you speak, kept long hidden in the protective prison of the Nemeton. Hmm, there may be something I can do, long term, but for now our deal gives you access to my knowledge. The Elemental fury your chimeras possess is the key to holding back the tide of corruption. Fire, wind, ice, earth, bend these to your will and The Harvester will be forced to consider a new avenue of attack. It is slow, careful, primordial. It will take time to devise a new strategy.”

“That’s good enough for now.” Stiles agreed, hearing Theo and Corey’s pulses spike higher, only Connor remaining as calm as he himself was. “We will speak again once you have determined the best way to trap or destroy The Harvester. It has been a pleasure, as always, Maw.” 

“A honor to be consulted by the ruler of a world instead of pretenders who claim the title with no true control. An equal is always welcome!” The entity seemed to laugh, dry and high, before it was pulled back into the chasm, only the burning purple orbs hanging on the air for a moment longer.

“Can we leave now?” Corey asked, gripping Theo’s hand and arm. “I don’t like it here!”

“Of course.” Stiles waved his hand, opening the portal with ease, his gaze lingering on the vanishing smoke and promise of future power.

 

Stiles nodded as Chimera Force One levelled off and the briefing resumed. He was used to flying in a plane at this stage, but still preferred the freedom and security that came from gliding through the air on his own wings. “So, Liam is saying that they confirmed The Harvester came from the Nemeton?” He asked as Corey glanced at his notes.

“Yeah, that’s right.” The younger chimera pressed a button on his arm rest and a picture of the shattered stump appeared on the screen in front of them. “I sent out a recon team from the Rhino’s Horn to check his information, and as you can see from the close-ups, there a lot of dried goo all around the edge of the trunk and more leading into the forest.”

“Hmm, The Maw was correct?” Theo glanced at him, “This was because of the ritual.”

“So it would appear.” Stiles growled, irritation clearly showing. “But Scott is at least bringing back the werewolves and your teams are turning them into chimeras. It has resulted in some unfortunate side effects, but we can-”

“I’m not Greenberg, Stiles.” The First Chimera frowned. “Stop trying to spin it, we need to find a way to take this thing out and restore peace and order to the Empire.”

“Who are you and what have you done with Theo Raeken?!” 

“Yeah, I know,” Theo shrugged, glancing at Connor standing behind the Emperor’s throne, flicking his eyes over the chimera’s polished gauntlets, remembering how they had been soaked in heretical blood just days before. _Glorious red, the crimson drops as those claws cut through skin and muscle with such ease, such restrained strength…_ He blinked and licked his lips, realizing he had been staring. “Uh, what?”

“We’re meeting Jackson at the Archon’s Palace in the regional capital, there’ll be time enough for…fun there!” The Emperor grinned at him and Theo cleared his throat, nodding, figuring out Stiles had mistaken the source of his arousal. “But for now, I’d like your opinions on The Maw, and the alliance that we will forge with it.”

“Are you sure that’s a good idea?” Corey asked, glancing between them. “We don’t know anything about it, or where it comes from or what it really wants. It just seems so risky, Stiles.”

“The Maw cannot escape its world, it is trapped there forever,” Stiles explained with a gesture. “That is why it makes deals with necromancers and Skinwalkers,: it gives power for payment in souls. I just happen to be the first individual to contact it who has the resources of an entire world at my fingertips.”

“What do you think it wants?” Theo asked, trying not to let his gaze-and his mind-drift over to Connor. “Um, maybe we should find that out before agreeing to get its help.”

“I think I already know what it wants.” Stiles inclined his head, resting his chin on his clasped fingers. “The Maw will want to consume The Harvester, just as it did to the Ghost Riders, and turn it into a supernatural energy source.”

“Well, that brings a whole new meaning to the term ‘bio-fuel,’” Theo muttered darkly. 

“It suggested we use Elemental powers to drive the goo back, do you think that will work, Connor?”

“Perhaps, Emperor.” The Guardian Prime moved forward as Stiles’ eyes flashed once. “The Harvester appeared to be able to nullify my abilities when I was being held prisoner, but the Corrupted who follow it do not have that ability, so perhaps we can clear the goop and deal with the monster another way.”

“That makes sense.” Corey nodded, flicking through more pictures until he came to an orbital image of the Amazon rainforest. “This is the latest from our spy satellite, Stiles. The area of grey among the green is the goop that The Harvester spreads around itself and based on what my analysts at Chimera Intelligence say, it appears to be creating a bizarre, goo-covered city of sorts.”

“City?”

“Goo?” 

“Err, yeah,” Corey nodded as Theo and Stiles stared at him. “There’s even a detectable trail of the stuff from that position to much closer to the Archon’s city, here.” He pointed at the new image, the goo having formed a crude square among the dense clusters of greenery. “We believe it’s some sort of outpost or checkpoint or something. At least, that’s based on what a human would do.”

“We need to inspect that.” Stiles spoke slowly to himself, gesturing at Connor. “It’s too close to the city to do nothing. Gather our forces and prepare them to move out: the twins, Nick, you, me, we’ll be the important ones for this mission if the goo is weak to Elemental powers.”

“As You command, Emperor.” Connor bowed to him and swept out of the room, Corey following a moment later as a call came in from HQ.

“So, Theo,” Stiles got up and smirked at his boyfriend. “You going to tell me why you’ve been sneaking looks at my Guardian Prime all day?”

“What?” Theo shook his head. “I haven’t!”

“Uh huh. He frowns every time you do it, so it’s kinda obvious something is going on.” The Emperor shrugged as he stood by the window. “What happened with the heretics?”

“We killed them. Or, rather, Connor killed the ones that surrendered, I just helped out.”

“And watched?”

“Well, yeah,” Theo grinned, and the scent of his arousal flushed through the air. “Aw, you should have seen him, Stiles! I finally get why you like the guy so much; his claws cutting through their skin with silken ease, the way the blood spurted out onto that beautiful armor, seeing his face soaked in crimson drops…”

“Uh,” Stiles stared at him, eyes darting down and brows raising as Theo’s pants bulged. “After all the times you gave out to me for liking him! Seriously?!”

“It’s the blood, of course.” Theo glanced at him.

“Oh, of course.” Stiles shook his head. “Well, forget about that, looks like we’ll be going into combat soon enough anyway, so you can sate your lust for blood then.”

“Hmm, I guess. Any idea on what Jackson has planned for us when we land at, err, _Glória do Imperador,_ ” Theo frowned at the words on his tablet. “Does that mean what I think it does?”

“Emperor’s Glory.” 

“Yeah, I thought so, he’s really trying huh? So, do you think it’ll be a big party?”

“I’m not sure,” Stiles turned back to his seat, staring at the images left on the screen of The Harvester’s city. “He’ll be eager to demonstrate what a loyal chimera he is and probably have some sort of feast or celebration planned.”

“You sound so happy.” Theo smirked as Stiles scowled at him. “I know, I know, more distractions from-” He broke off as a knock came on the door. “What?”

“Urgent message from the Imperial Palace, Emperor, First Chimera.” A sheet of paper was handed to Theo and he accepted it as the chimera bowed deeply and scurried away. 

“Huh, well, I’ll be…” Theo grinned, placing the sheet in front of Stiles. “They actually did it!”

“Glory to you, Emperor,” Stiles read aloud, skipping across the adulation and slowing down as he got to the meat of the message. “As lead scientist at the Imperial Palace, it is my great pleasure to tell you that we have successfully created and implanted the first…chimera child.” He looked up at Theo. “They have done it, haven’t they?”

“Chimera breeding is a go, Emperor.” The First Chimera smiled wider as Stiles mimicked his expression. “We’ll have to wait for the child to be born and raised before we see if this method is successful, maybe devise some sort of treatment the other chimeras can get in order for them to have children the, uh, natural way.”

“Yes, indeed.” Stiles murmured, letting Theo ramble on about the possibilities stretching out in front of them. _Finally, the future of my Empire will be safeguarded and my chimeras will have something more to fight for, other than the glory of their perfect Emperor, of course!_

 

Drums pounded and voices cried out to the sky as the Imperial Procession made its way down the wide boulevard to the Archon’s Palace at the center of the city once known as Rio de Janeiro, chimeras lining the pavement as the Emperor’s adoring subjects cheered and waved and shouted at Him, the open-topped trucks driving slowly past to allow the Alpha Chimera to stand and return their smiles and give a regal wave. Connor stood next to his master, scanning the area for threats as Jackson spoke to Theo and Corey behind them. 

The Guardian Prime filtered out the conversation, instead looking towards the rising white citadel on the hill in front of them. The iconic statue of Christ the Redeemer that used to dominate the city had been replaced with an even larger one of the Emperor, His noble expression visible from miles away. _We’re going too slowly. This isn’t exactly the safest region in the Empire; food riots, vicious subjugation, Jackson’s hold on the Archon’s seat hasn’t been as firm as I would like it to be._

“Relax, Connor.” The Emperor whispered at him. “I can feel you tensing up from over here.”

“Of course, master.” Connor muttered, his gaze pausing as they pulled into a large plaza, the outer gates of the Archon’s Palace opening slowly ahead of them. His eyes were drawn to the smaller statue of the Emperor off to the side of the plaza, along with a less ornate version of the cathedral that graced Victory City. “Is that…”

“The Church of the Emperor in Ascendence is very popular here,” Jackson called out to him. “We managed to get that built before you arrived, Guardian Prime, or, should I say, Prophet of the Emperor?”

“Either title is acceptable, Archon.”

“Good, well, we only have one chimera cleric here, she has all of your, err, the Emperor’s teachings, but not quite the bombastic style that you possess,” Jackson grinned at Connor as the convoy began moving again, the gates fully open and drawbridge lowered. “Perhaps you will do the Faithful the honor of listening to the Emperor's Word as it should be spoken through your own oratory skills?”

“If the Emperor wills it, and time allows.” Connor nodded as his master did the same. “I will leave the preparations to you, Archon Jackson.” The convoy pulled inside the citadel, a towering white fortress that stood on the hill dominating the city, rainforest spread out around the fortified walls and clustered buildings at its outskirts. “This way, Emperor.”

“Thanks, Connor.” The Chimera Emperor dropped onto the purple carpet that had been laid out for him and walked alongside Jackson, asking him questions about the city and region as Connor followed dutifully behind.

 

Liam looked around at the baroquely decorated grand hall, gold and gems glinting from every surface, bright colors painted on the walls, the furniture made of polished wood and thick, velvety cushions. He glanced at Philip, the Manticore raising his brows in surprise. “Guess Jackson spared no expense?”

“Guess not.” Philip shrugged. “The Emperor’s presence should be honored, of course, but maybe this is a bit too much?”

“Shock and awe, boys,” Jackson smirked at them as he walked past, the Emperor having assumed his seat on the central throne at the top table, Theo and Corey sitting next to him, with the ever-imposing figure of the Guardian Prime standing behind his master. “Archons represent the will of the Emperor, and he must be seen to be all powerful, richer than anyone else, and grand enough to stagger even the proudest rebel werewolf!”

“Err, I guess that’s true,” Liam muttered, pulling Philip away from Jackson’s slightly deranged grin. “I think he’s overcompensating,” He whispered to his boyfriend. “Jackson was a bit of a disaster as Archon before he became a chimera.”

“I heard about that.” The Manticore urged Liam towards their seats near the top of the hall. “All this pomp and ceremony and we should be out there finding The Harvester and taking it down!”

“Easier said than done, Philip.” Nick joined them at the table, the twins following him. “You haven’t seen The Harvester in action, haven’t witnessed what it does to its victims.”

“None of us have seen The Harvester,” Liam added. “No one except the Guardian Prime. Sure, I saw the goop, but it was hardened, old, only you guys saw the live version, right, Nick?”

“Yeah, and it was not fun.” The Dragon shook his head. “Don’t be so eager to see it in person, at least, not without your friendly, neighbourhood Elemental chimera next to you!”

“Yeah,” Josh spoke up, taking a drink from the glass in front of him, the liquid spicy and sweet. “Ugh, hot!” 

“Here,” Liam pushed a jug of water at him. “What were you saying?”

“That, uh, thanks.” He coughed. “That we heard the Guardian Prime talk about how the Emperor needed as many Elemental chimeras as possible to hold back the goop.”

“Guess we’ll be saving your ass again, huh, _werewolf?!_ ” Jason smirked nastily at Liam, stopping when Nick clapped him over the back of the head. “Ow!”

“Behave!” The Legendary chimera turned to Liam. “Sorry about him, he’s still got a lot to learn.”

“No problem.” Liam muttered, watching Josh force his brother up, the twins going to another table.

“I’ll go after them, better make sure they don’t upset anyone else.” Nick smiled and stood, a brief flap of his wings propelled the shirtless chimera across the floor to where they had sat down. 

“You ok?” Philip nudged Liam.

“Yeah,” Liam smirked, taking a gulp of the alcoholic drink. “Huh, it does burn. No, I’m fine, Philip, just getting used to the fact that as a chimera, being called a ‘werewolf’ is a grave insult!”

 

“Guardian Prime?” 

Connor turned as his title was called, gesturing to the other Guardians to follow the Emperor and First Chimera to the private terrace. “What can I do for you, Josh? Shouldn’t you be enjoying the feast?”

“I will, I mean, I want to, but, well, can I speak to you?” The younger chimera wet his lips and cast his eyes down, not meeting Connor’s gaze. “In your capacity as the Emperor’s Prophet?”

“Of course, out here.” Connor pointed to a nearby balcony, the marble balustrade covered in sweet-smelling roses and flowers that crisscrossed the stone. “Sit, if you wish.” He sat on one of the wrought iron chairs, shifting slightly as it groaned under the weight of his armor. Josh sat opposite him, on the edge of his chair, biting his lips. “Now, what’s wrong?”

“I did something bad, something terrible, I guess.”

“Heretical?”

“No, of course not!” Josh answered quickly, seeing Connor nod once. “It’s more…well, I killed someone, recently, by accident.”

“Chimera, human, or supernatural?” Connor asked, his expression and tone completely neutral.

“Human, a, a kid.” Josh hung his head. “I was outside the city, in one of those abandoned towns, I was thought I was alone, but there must have been some kids scavenging the area, they had a gun, I just reacted, I didn’t think…me and Jason went back that night, buried the kid. He tells me to forget about it, but I keep seeing it, keep hearing the crunch of their skull on metal, the lack of a heartbeat under my fingers. What do I do? How do I stop re-living it, Guardian Prime?!”

“Hmm,” Connor paused, watching him. “You want forgiveness from me, don’t you?”

“Yes.”

“Forgiveness is not mine to give, for there has been no crime committed, religious or Imperial.” The Guardian Prime spoke clearly, his voice remaining cold and detached. “Under Imperial law, the death of a human cannot be punished when that human was threatening the life of a chimera. You acted in self-defense, therefore you are blameless.”

“But it was a kid!”

“You need to leave your old morals behind you, Josh, and remember your place in the glorious Chimera Empire!” Connor replied firmly. “I’m not saying that you’re wrong to feel guilty, just that you will not find atonement here. You’ll never lose those feelings, but perhaps you can use them to help others and give yourself the cleansing you need.” He stood up, Josh following quickly. “I must return to the Emperor’s side, but you can be assured that I will speak to no one else about this. Now go back and enjoy the party.”

“Yes, Guardian Prime.” Josh bowed deeply to him and turned away.

“Hmm.” Connor frowned to himself, going the opposite direction. _The law is clear, but until we have all the humans turned into chimeras, perhaps we should take steps to ensure their compliance and give them legal protections? Bah, it is a matter for another time, the threat of The Harvester looms over us, and the Empire is in danger once more…_

 

“I can’t believe you left him in there.” Theo smirked at Stiles, shaking his head. “He’s gonna be so pissed off later tonight!”

“Oh, don’t worry, Corey will enjoy all the extra attention directed at him.” Stiles dismissed his concerns with a wave of his hand. “Besides, I know Jackson, and if that golden horror of a dining hall is anything to go by, he’ll have some cool entertainment lined up; performances, dancers, something sexy and perfect because he really wants to show that he ‘gets it,’ now that he’s a chimera.”

“Hmm, and why are we missing out on the sexy?” Theo frowned as Stiles looked out across the sprawling jungle city, their high vantage point giving fantastic views of the night sky and points of light flickering across the coast in front of them. When he didn’t reply, the First Chimera huffed, perking up when Connor entered the room, his eyes darting from the Guardian Prime’s face down to his gauntlets, pulse spiking as Theo longed to see the metal splattered with blood again. “Uh, where were you?”

“Apologies, Emperor, First Chimera.” Connor bowed formally to them, stopping a few feet behind Stiles as was normal. “I was with Josh, one of the twins. He had a need to speak with me in my role of the Emperor’s Prophet.”

“It’s fine.” Stiles nodded at his explanation. “You’re here now.”

“Indeed.” Theo smirked at him, turning to lean back on the railing so he could keep both Stiles and Connor in view. _I’m beginning to regret leaving Garrett behind, he could’ve distracted Corey and allowed me and Stiles to consider a…different opportunity._

“Theo, The Harvester?” Stiles reminded him, wrinkling his nose as his boyfriend failed to hide his scent. “This city it’s building, I thought the monster’s purpose was to consume, not create. It’s curious.”

“Perhaps, but I imagine it needs a position to strike from, the same as us when we used the fortress in Beacon Hills.” Theo shrugged. “And honestly, Stiles, we’ve been talking about The Harvester for days now, and we’re still no closer to finding out what it wants or how to defeat it.” He saw Stiles’ expression sour and looked at Connor. “Guardian Prime, what’s your take on all this?”

“It is impossible to know the mind of a monster such as this, First Chimera.” Connor replied after a moment of narrowed eyes and flared nostrils, the chimera trying to read Theo’s scent. “It is older than we have records for, it leaves no trace but death and corruption. It is not even as intelligent as the werewolves, for it exists on primal urges alone: consume, multiply, destroy. There is nothing else behind its motives.”

“It just happens to be super-strong.” Stiles muttered, glaring at the city. “Intel reports put the goop about twenty miles from here. When we leave tomorrow, our task will be to contain the spread and if possible, push it back. We have all worked too hard to get to where we are to sacrifice it all to a monster made of slime.”

Theo caught Connor’s eye, both chimeras feeling the Emperor’s rage. He gestured for the other chimera to come closer, standing next to him. “Guardians, you may leave!” Theo frowned when the bodyguards remained standing at the entrance to the terrace. “I said go!”

“They only respond to me or Connor.” Stiles glanced at him. “Why do you want them to leave? Say whatever you have to in front of them or wait until Corey joins us in the rooms later.”

“I was just going to wonder if there were any human workers in this outpost of The Harvester, the Corrupted don’t have blood, they have goop.” Theo looked at Connor with a grin. “Maybe there are some heretics in this part of the world, huh? I’d enjoy seeing you in your element again, Guardian Prime! I could be…right beside you!”

“Oh my god,” Stiles groaned, glaring at him. “Keep it in your pants, Theo!”

Connor flushed and stepped backwards, shaking his head. “Purging heretics is not meant to be enjoyable, First Chimera, it is the solemn duty of any loyal chimera.”

“And we applaud you for that, don’t we, St-err, Emperor?” Theo smirked at Connor as the Guardian Prime nodded minutely at him. _So, avoid Stiles’ actual name and I start to get somewhere. Interesting…_

“Of course, Connor always serves me faithfully.” Stiles replied stiffly. “He is the, uh, a most loyal chimera.”

“Thank You, Emperor, that is most generous.”

 

Connor watched as the Emperor, Nick, and the merged form of the twins took off from the entrance of the Archon’s Palace, a phalanx of flying chimeras escorting Him as they did circuits of the citadel, waiting for the ground-based chimeras to get into the waiting helicopters. “Black Hawks, right?” He said to Jackson as the rotors began to spin up, the rest of the squads climbing inside.

“That’s right.” Jackson nodded, pointing at their one, Theo immediately joining them. “There were found a few months ago in a military base about fifty miles from here; untouched, undamaged, neither looters or the chimera army took them. We have six in total, which means we can’t carry that much, but we’ll have half in the air and in support today!”

“Good!” Connor roared over the howling engines. “With thirty Elemental chimeras we should be able to push the Corrupted back!” He climbed inside the helicopter alongside Theo, Jackson swinging in as the aircraft began to lift off the ground.

“Corey’s in number three!” Theo shouted at him, holding up his fingers to illustrate. “Talking to Chimera Intelligence to get the latest reports.” He nodded his thanks at Jackson as they were handed headsets.

“Why aren’t you with him?”

“I thought I could talk to you instead!”

“Great,” Connor nodded, his expression hardening. _And why would I want that? He’s been acting strangely ever since the purging of the heretics…and the spilling of their blood. Ah, of course._ “It is likely we will face only the Corrupted today, First Chimera.”

“Sure, but they went down easily enough the last time, I’m certain we can drive them back.” Theo replied as the helicopters accelerated and left the city behind. He glanced at Jackson. “Is the Emperor linked into coms?”

“Yes.”

“Great!”

 

Stiles soared through the air, the glorious feeling of freedom surrounding him as his borrowed wings flapped quietly behind him, the flock of other flying chimeras staying close enough to escort him, and still far enough that he was able to enjoy the sensation. _I really should consider giving the Guardians wings, especially Connor, I know how much he hates being apart from me. As his charge, of course, nothing else can be there. He’s made that all too clear._ The bitterness of the thoughts surprised Stiles, but the emotion lasted only a moment as the earpiece squawked and Theo’s voice came through. “Yes, I can hear you.”

“Intel estimates that we’re five minutes from the outpost, it’s on a hill, above the rainforest. Connor will jump in first to make sure the landing site is secure.” 

“It’s in the middle of enemy territory, Theo, it can’t be secure!” Stiles flipped onto his back to glare at the lead Black Hawk. “Tell him we’ll discuss this in a moment, we have to make a necessary detour. Bank left and follow me!” The Chimera Emperor tilted his wings and flew off to the side, his escort and the helicopters following him. After thirty seconds of speeding over the lush rainforest, Stiles pointed at a sprawling Colonial Era plantation house, before diving down into the gap in the trees. “Send the others ahead, observation only.” He commanded after Theo and Connor’s helicopter landed nearby, Corey’s Black Hawk not stopping. 

“Why are we delaying?” Theo demanded, looking around at the neat garden and comfortable looking chairs on the long veranda. “What is this place?”

“My home, First Chimera.” A woman with long brown hair bowed in front of them, her face and arms tanned, even as the rest of her exposed skin glimmered with almost translucent scales. “Greetings to you, Chimera Emperor.”

“And who the hell is she?!” He stared at her, then looked at Stiles, though it was Connor who finally answered with a low growl.

“Hello, Ghost.”

 

“This way, please,” Ghost showed them up to the veranda, gesturing for them to sit, though the Guardian Prime simply glared at her, arms folded across his chest. Theo and Stiles seated themselves on the swinging couch. “Can I offer you some refreshments?”

“We won’t be staying long,” Stiles replied, ignoring the heaviness in the air that had nothing to do with the stifling heat. “We came for intelligence; the town nearest you has been taken over by a monster. It is called The Harvester and spreads its influence through some sort of parasitic goop. Have you seen it?”

“Yes, I have.” The chimera sat across from them, seemingly ignoring the glare from Connor, the Guardian Prime’s eyes boring into her, hatred rolling into his scent. “It’s my local village, taken only a few days ago, like you say, Emperor, goop everywhere, the people were covered in it, I didn’t approach once I saw what they had become; shambling, disfigured monsters. It was horrible to look at.”

“I’m sure.” Stiles nodded. “But I could use your help, Ghost, just one more time.”

“Emperor,” Connor rumbled, his eyes flaring brightly, making Theo stare as they flicked between red and purple. “We do not need her help; our forces can handle it alone.”

“Connor,” Stiles held up his hand placatingly. “Local knowledge will be of use, leave the past behind.”

“But she is-”

“We’re taking her!” The Emperor barked, his own eyes burning bright. “That is my command!”

“Of course, Emperor.” The Guardian Prime growled with gritted teeth. “ _I_ would never question Your commands.”

“Ok, what’s going on here?” Theo looked at the three chimeras. “Who is this woman?”

“Ghost is the only chimera who ever _retired,_ ” Connor answered quickly, the unrestrained loathing in his voice making Theo’s claws itch. “The only one who turned her back on the Emperor when our conquest was barely begun. She is one step away from being a traitor!”

“Connor, that’s enough!” Stiles jumped to his feet, snarling as sparks of electricity arced around him. “If you can’t be civil, go wait by the helicopter.”

“It’s fine, Emperor.” Ghost smiled sweetly at them both. “I understand his jealousy, after all, I am the most successful chimera assassin you’ve ever had, and the DC mission could have gone wrong a thousand different ways if I hadn’t done what I did.”

“And you would be nothing but a dead chimera full of holes if my forces hadn’t taken the Pentagon in time.” The Guardian Prime snarked, a grim smile on his lips, fists clenched. 

“Still regret saving my life, huh, Connor?” 

“The Emperor’s commands cannot be ignored.” Connor glared at Stiles, the only time Theo had ever seen him so angry. “I will wait outside.”

“I’ll come with you.” Theo stood up hurriedly, but Stiles shook his head.

“You’ll stay here, I need to know everything about this outpost and you have the best mind for details, Theo.”

“Fine.” He murmured, watching Connor stomp away, lips parting as he saw the chimera’s serrated claws flick out from the holes in his gauntlets, greedily sucking in the fury in his scent, the same smell that the Guardian Prime had when they purged the heretics only days before. “I’m all ears, Ghost.” 

 

Connor breathed heavily, trying to regain his composure when the scent hit him. “What do you want, Ghost?”

“I can never fool you, can I?” She appeared behind him, the air shimmering as the chimera’s abilities faded. “The Emperor and First Chimera are talking to Jackson and the others over the radio, but you and I should have our own talk, hmm?”

“I have nothing to say to you that hasn’t already been said.”

“My way was best, Connor, you have to recognize that.” Ghost pressed him, her dark eyes locked onto his gaze, the Guardian Prime's eyes were a blazing red now. “A full-frontal attack would have cost us hundreds of lives; chimeras and humans.”

“You’re wrong.” Connor shook his head, “We had a way inside, an officer who had turned, right in the situation room, close enough to open the gates and let us in.” He paused, glancing over at the veranda where Theo was leaning on the railing, clearly listening to them. “Don’t you remember what it was like, Ghost? Don’t you remember? I was there, I was the first chimera through the door, and I remember what I saw.”

“Don’t be dramatic, Connor.” Ghost snapped and turned away. “It was them or us, I just opted for the scalpel, and you would’ve used your claws. So zealous in those early days.”

“We needed to send a message, not kill everyone in sight, those were the Emperor’s commands.”

“I remember.” Ghost glared at him over her shoulder, “Of course I remember.”

 

_“So, who are these guys?” The agent scratched his head, staring at the still image on the screen; glowing purple eyes dominating the picture. “And what are those knives in his hands?”_

_“I don’t know, Richard, I thought you folks over in Langley would know.” Another man in a business suit shrugged. “I’ve had experts in from every agency: FBI, NSA, DIA, hell, we even called DARPA, but nothing.”_

_“Those aren’t knives.” A woman moved closer to the image. “I think those are claws, just like this one has electricity spilling from his hands.” She pressed a button, moving the video on again and freezing it on the next figure; a pale youth with dark hair and the same purple eyes. “Maybe we should be calling Animal Control, haha!”_

_“This isn’t funny, Doreen.” The second man glared at her. “I sure as hell wouldn’t have called a four-star General into this room if I thought it was a just a high school prank. We’ve lost contact with the National Guard base near Beacon Hills, we need to-”_

_“Die?” Ghost emerged from the wall with a grin. “I can arrange that!” Her claws shone in the florescent lighting, the chimera diving around the room in a lethal series of cartwheels, butchering the humans with ease._

 

Connor snorted when Ghost looked at him again, her eyes no longer stuck in the past. “Just follow orders, and remember I outrank you, Ghost.”

“Maybe, but I still have the Emperor’s favor. Killing all of Congress will do that!” She smirked and walked back to house, offering Theo a perfunctory bow as he came over.

“Connor, are you ok?”

“Fine.”

“Right, so what’s the deal with you and her?” Theo stood closer than he was comfortable with and Connor stepped backwards. “I get the tension, but I’ve never seen you act like that toward St-ah, the Emperor.”

“Ghost is a snake,” He growled, flexing his fingers irritably. “The Emperor trusts her at His peril. I will not let her endanger His life again.”

“Again? C’mon, dude, what’s her story?”

“Ghost is an infiltrator, an assassin, a spy.” Connor explained, pacing up and down the dusty track as Theo watched him carefully, the First Chimera’s scent spiked with interest and discomfort, the heat leaving his face glistening with sweat. The Guardian Prime was, however, pristine and unaffected by the humidity, gesturing furiously as he spoke. “Her job was to find the enemy, infiltrate the enemy, and kill any who posed a threat to the Empire. One such assignment did not go according to plan: she infiltrated, certainly, but was compromised.”

“She fell for a target?”

“Exactly, Air Force Officer, the woman had a way to gain the nuclear launch codes, but Ghost couldn’t or wouldn’t use her influence to fulfil her mission.” Connor went still, glaring back at where the Emperor was talking to Ghost. “No, she told the officer where the Emperor was in return for the codes.”

“The Arlington strike?” Theo whispered, staring at him. “We lost fifty chimeras in that attack, almost lost you. Though, I’d never seen skin and bone regenerate that fast before, I thought for sure you were gonna lose that arm!”

“Thankfully not.” Connor looked at his left hand and then up at Theo. “The Emperor doesn’t know this part; I never told Him because of how much He valued Ghost, and how little He must know about the things we do for His glory. I found her tied to a chair in the command center of that base, not even trying to escape.”

“What did you do?”

“What any loyal chimera would do,” His eyes glowed a deeper red and the ground around him began to tremble, rocks dancing up and down. “I slaughtered every last human until I found the one I was looking for, and when I found the officer, I forced her into the room with Ghost, hoping that perhaps she could retake some of her loyalty.”

“But you had to kill her, didn’t you?” Theo had moved closer to him again, scent evening out into arousal as he licked his lips and stared into Connor’s eyes. “Shed her blood, enjoy the crimson splatter all over that…handsome face of yours!”

Connor turned away from him, hearing the final whispered words. “I killed her, yes, it was painless and quick, and Ghost never failed a mission again.”

“But she never thanked you, did she? Hmm, ungrateful.” Theo murmured. “I’ll find out why the Emperor still likes her, he values you a lot more, Connor.”

“If you say so, Theo.” Connor shook his head and walked towards the helicopter. _It was years ago now, and I’ve changed, no longer the lethal weapon He requires. If Theo wants to dig up the past, let him._ He glanced over his shoulder, frowning as the First Chimera shot him an eager grin. “Let’s get into the fight!”

 

“This is not going well!” Theo screamed at Stiles as a monstrous wave of goop rushed down the street and smashed through Jason’s ice barrier, only Nick’s jets of fire forcing it back. “Stiles, we should pull out!”

“No, I’m not leaving without answers!” The Emperor shouted back, standing in the middle of the street and sending arcs of electricity out from his body to collide with the black wavelets, the impact fizzling out even as the goo slowed. “It’s working! We’ve cleared two blocks, and this is one small ass town, keep pushing forward!” He flung out a hand and charged Liam with his lightning, the chimera absorbing the energy and rushing into the battle in the ruins of a corner store. “Kill the Corrupted!”

Connor shrugged off the attack from one of the transformed humans, punching through its head with ease and stomping his feet on the ground, the earth shattering around him and flinging the Corrupted into the air in time for Liam to zap them down, expending his charge. “Yarr!” The Guardian Prime charged after the monsters, seeing Theo and Corey fighting further along the shopping development near to the edge of the hill the town was perched on.

Nick landed next to Josh and Jason in a flurry of ash and smoke. “Merge, we may have to take off quickly!” 

“Ok!” The twins nodded and quickly stripped out of their clothes, stepping together into the flawless form of the merged chimera. “Let’s go!” They launched from the ground with him, flying over the small town that had been turned into a warzone. Fires burned around the outskirts, while clumps of ice and rock blocked other streets, the electrified elements forcing the waves of goop into a tighter and tighter space. “Over there, that’s where everyone is converging!”

Theo pushed Corey backwards when the goo lunged for him. “No!”

“Theo!” Corey screamed, reaching out to grab his hand. “Help!”

“I’m coming!” Stiles cried out, blasting a stream of electricity at the goo surrounding him. “Fuck!”

“I got this.” Connor said calmly, raising his hands into the air and clenching them tight, using his terrakinetic abilities to cause a massive earthquake that rocked through the district, toppling houses and turning the ground to dust, the entire side of the mountain falling away as the Guardian Prime unleashed his powers, sucking the goop underground and trapping it there. Theo clung to the pillar of rock that wasn’t taken, the goo sliding off him to drop into the depths below. 

“Fuck!” The chimera yelled as the column began to crumble too, but the merged twins swooped in and picked him up, dropping Theo in front of Connor. “Thanks!”

“Hah,” Connor slumped sideways, his energy burned. “No problem.”

“Uh, yeah, thanks.” Stiles nodded at him, before looking around. “Where’s Corey…”

“Over here!” Ghost pushed the younger chimera behind her, her claws flicked out and ready to fight. The goop had pinned them in and Corrupted were advancing steadily. “I could use a hand!”

“Nick,” Stiles barked, pointing at the area. “Firestorm now! Theo, get the helicopters in the air, take Connor and the others. Josh, Jason, you’re with me!” The orders were hurriedly obeyed, and Stiles marched forward, a sheet of lightning rolling off his body to drive the goop back, the ground under their feet quaking in response to his fury. “Get your hands off my chimeras, monster!” The Chimera Emperor flicked his wrists and mimicked Jason’s ice abilities, carving a devastating furrow through the wall of greyish goo, adding hooks and spikes and cruel points into the beams of ice to slice and rip at the supernatural tide, losing sight of Corey and Ghost. Finally, he arrived at an injured Corey, his right leg bleeding badly from an impact with a car. “Ghost? Where did she go?”

“She just left!” Corey groaned, clutching at his torn trousers. “Turned towards the wall and then she was gone!”

“Fuck.” Stiles growled, searching for her, stretching his abilities outwards as the roar of the Black Hawks got louder overhead. “Gah! I’ll find her later, she will suffer for leaving you behind!” He reached down and helped Corey stand, clutching the younger chimera to his body, transparent wings appearing as he mimicked Josh. _Now, Nick!_ A wave of searing heat accompanied them as the chimeras flew out of the town, Corey and Stiles climbing into the nearest helicopter. Theo and Connor were still on the ground, evacuating the rest of the wounded chimeras. Stiles glared at them and then at the approaching firestorm, silently commanding them to leave. _Get out of there!_

 

“Wait, hold here!” Connor called out, sliding open the door again as the helicopter hovered over the one part of the town that was still intact; a sea of grey goop and one chimera. “It’s Ghost, bring us lower.”

“What? Are you crazy?!” Theo shouted at him, grasping Connor’s arm. “Just leave her, this is your chance to get revenge, to remove her influence from the Emperor’s ear forever!”

“I know.” Connor growled, but tied a cable to his armor and jumped out of the helicopter anyway. He landed with a thud next to the trembling chimera, raising his hand to pull a sheet of rock upwards, cutting off the encroaching goop. “Come. The Emperor still has a use for you.”

“Fine.” Ghost snapped at him, glancing between the corruption and the Guardian Prime. She grabbed the outside of his armor reluctantly and looked at him. “Let’s go!”

Connor raised his fist and rolled his head back, seeing Theo give the signal to lift them out of the inferno as it washed over the goop, burning it from existence. He grunted and sat at the door of the helicopter once they were on board, Ghost jumping out of his arms and moving as far away as possible from him. 

“That was brave,” Theo quirked his brows at him, as though he didn’t understand, slapping Connor’s arm playfully. “And reckless, you idiot! What if you were consumed in the flames, do you think the Emperor would be ok with you coming out all char-grilled?!”

“The Emperor values her-”

“No, he values _you,_ ” The First Chimera cut across him. “Not some tramp that was successful years ago. You, Connor, and you alone are the Emperor’s favorite chimera, other than me, of course!”

“Right.” Connor shared his smirk, looking down on the outpost as it burned brightly, thick, black smoke rising into the sky as they made their return to the Archon’s Palace. “That wasn’t what it felt like earlier.”

“Sti-err, the Emperor,” Theo shrugged when Connor arched a brow. “You prefer it when I use his title. Well, he’s still awkward after that whole familial revelation and what you said. I’m not saying he’s punishing you, but, maybe I should talk to him, remind him how much he owes you, and how we both value you so highly.”

“As you say, First Chimera.” Connor replied diplomatically, unable to discern if Theo’s honest scent was genuine or forced. He stiffened as the chimera smiled and placed a hand on his dust-covered gauntlets. _This is getting too weird._

 

Stiles paced restlessly around the small chamber Jackson used for meetings, the furniture pushed back to allow him more room. “What a shitshow!”

“Hey, at least we’re all alive.” Corey said as his wound was being bandaged, glaring at Ghost where she knelt on the floor, two Guardians flanking her. “Even those who failed to follow orders…”

“Give it a rest, Corey.” Stiles growled. “It’s not import-”

“Pretty important, Stiles.” Theo cut across him, standing beside Connor and the other Guardians. “She disobeyed a direct order, fled from the battle, left Corey behind; I guess we can all lose our grip in the chaos, huh?”

“What does that mean?” 

“He means nothing, Emperor.” Connor spoke for Theo, pushing him back slightly. “What matters is that The Harvester did not gain a foothold outside of the city it is creating. And we know that the Elemental powers work against the Corrupted and the goop.”

“You’re right, of course, Connor.” Stiles’ voice softened, his eyes not meeting the Guardian Prime as his stomach roiled uncomfortably. “Just like you were right before, Ghost was retired, I didn’t need to bring her into this mess…” The Chimera Emperor paused, looking up at him and then he nodded. “Everyone out; Connor, Theo, Corey, remain!”

“Master?” Connor frowned, nodding for the Guardians to leave as well. “What is it?”

“I, uh, no, we can discuss it later.” Stiles waved his hand and stalked over to the narrow window. “For all that we might have survived and proven that we have a weapon against The Harvester in our Elemental abilities, something tells me that we will not be able to burn it down. We need some other edge, maybe a way to cram it back into its prison, perhaps our alliance with the Hellscape and The Maw will aid us in this endeavour.”

“We must be careful, Stiles.” Theo said quickly, touching his arm. “How do we know that we aren’t giving this Maw exactly what it has been looking for all along, it is not a chimera you can bend to your will.”

“I know.” There was silence for a few minutes, broken only by Corey’s pained grunts, pulling away the gauze to look at his slowly healing wound. After a moment of staring at Connor’s midsection, Stiles nodded and looked up, “Are the Ancient chimeras with you?”

“The core group of five, master.”

“Good, I will need them for what is to come.” The Chimera Emperor smiled at them, placing a hand on Theo and Connor’s shoulders, touching the Guardian Prime for what felt like the first time in weeks. “It is time to deploy the full might of the Overmind against The Harvester and call forth my Guardian of the Ancient World!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry I didn’t post last week, guys, the power went out when we were hit by the bomb-cyclone, and I really struggled with this chapter-very stressful week at work, but hopefully it doesn’t show too much. Thanks for reading!


	6. Secrets of the Overmind

The buildings rose quickly, concrete and steel and stone flowing up into complicated shapes and bulky defensive structures, a thick layer of goop assisting the construction of the Harvester’s sprawling city. The jungle clearing it had started in was now several dozen miles across, trees falling victim to the ever-ravenous appetite of the monster. A sea of ooze spread out from the central point, a tall, round column that stretched hundreds of feet into the air, more of the shiny, black goop pouring from openings around the pillar every few minutes. The Harvester slithered rapidly through the goop, fatter and bigger since it went south; the devouring of two thousand miles of land had allowed it to expand and grow ever larger, dozens of spindly, waving limbs trailed from its body, the shapeless head bobbing back and forth as the monster surveyed its newest creations. The sun was only rising, but already the city of ooze gleamed under its rays, the Harvester looking up at the ball of fire as primordial thoughts flowed through its mind. “Ssssoon even the ssssun will be conssssumed!”

“Don’t reveal anything!” One of the prisoners whispered to the others, and the Harvester turned slowly to look at the group, their bright yellow eyes glowing in defiance. 

“Curioussss, your eyessss are not purple.” An approximation of a hand emerged from the quivering mass that comprised the “torso” of the Harvester’s form and gripped the chimera’s chin, forcing his head left and right. “What ssssecretssss do you hold within?!”

“Do your worst monster!” The chimera spat at it. “I am not afraid to die. None of us are!”

“Why?”

“Glory demands sacrifice!” Another chimera called out, struggling against the ooze covered chains that kept her from unleashing her claws. “And the Emperor will get His glory through our deaths!”

“You cannot defeat us!” The first chimera smirked, a crackle of electricity sparking over his torso before it was quickly snuffed out, the black goop tightening around his hands and spreading up his chest. “You will burn under His divine wrath!”

“Divine?” The Harvester echoed, its voice changing to a sibilant whisper, the barest hint of surprise in its tone. “The Overmind livessss?”

“We know your game, creature.” The female chimera spoke again, nodding grimly at her companions. “You’ll never use us for your puppets!”

“No? I sssstill need fuel for my creation,” The Harvester withdrew the hand and the black goo raced across the chimeras, covering them in corruption. “I will take your livessss and continue making my city, my trap; the Overmind will come, and he too will be conssssumed!”

“Argh! No-” The strangled scream was cut off as the Harvester leeched the life from their bodies and directed it towards a new building, adding the ooze to the undulating sea of goop underneath it. The sounds of breaking bones and crushed and exploding organs could be heard across the otherwise silent city, the monster’s mouth opening to reveal row after row of red teeth. 

Once the bodies had been disintegrated completely and the goop fled the chimeras, the Harvester shuffled away, passing row after row of Corrupted; humans and animals forming the backbone of its army. “More than a mere Emperor, thissss enemy issss. The Overmind, our ancient adversary…”

 

“You slept well, Emperor?” Connor asked politely as his master reclined on the throne at the head of the conference table. They were waiting for the uplink to be established, Marric scheduled to report in. 

“Yeah, as well as could be expected.” The Emperor glanced at Theo, the other chimera sitting nearby, reading through the latest scouting reports on the outpost of goop they had destroyed the day before. “And you, Connor? You weren’t outside my door as usual this morning.”

“No, master, I went…I was outside.”

“Where did you go?”

“I, um, I-”

“He went to pray,” Theo replied for him, not looking up from his tablet. “I saw him from the terrace where we ate breakfast; there’s some sort of shrine down near the main gate, right?”

“That’s right, First Chimera.” Connor nodded, not looking at the Emperor until he felt his muscles obeying His command and lifting his head up to meet his master’s gaze. “I am aware that You become uncomfortable if I do that in Your presence, Emperor.”

“It’s a bit disconcerting,” He shrugged. “Is there a large following of the chimera religion here, Connor?”

“They are not as numerous as in Victory City, nor as zealous as in other parts of the Empire,” The Guardian Prime responded carefully. “But the Faithful here in _Glória do Imperador_ are certainly devoted to demonstrating their beliefs.”

“They’d have to be,” Corey cut in, finishing his phone call and returning to the room to sit on the Emperor’s other side. “I heard from Jackson two nights ago-in painstaking detail- how they tore down the statue of Christ the Redeemer-”

“A false god!” Connor growled menacingly as his master smirked and Corey nodded hurriedly.

“Right, right, false god, uh, anyway, they replaced the statue with you in about three weeks, Stiles.” Corey smiled, “That’s pretty impressive, right?”

“Indeed, Jackson is really trying hard.” The Emperor gestured at the screen in front of them as it flickered to life and a grainy image appeared, sharpening rapidly into a sand-swept visage. “Ah, it appears Marric is finally ready for us!”

Connor nodded and moved forward to make sure that was the case. He smiled happily at the other chimera, Marric’s dark hair was pushed to one side by the wind buffeting them, his skin tanned dark from weeks of exposure to the African sun. “Greetings to you, Marric.”

“And to you, Guardian Prime.” The fire Elemental grinned at him. “It is good to hear from you again, it’s been too long, Connor.”

“That it has.” Connor replied, his shoulder blades itching as he felt eyes on him. Turning slightly to ensure the chimeras behind him could see the screen, he caught sight of Theo glaring in his direction, the intensity of his stare appearing to be directed at Marric instead of Connor himself. _Curious, the First Chimera has never had any issue with him before, unless of course this is another part of Theo’s incredibly unnerving charm offensive. Hmm, best to be careful and keep Marric out of this._ “Are You able to see and hear him, master?”

“Yes, Connor.” The Emperor waved at him. “You may proceed.” 

 

“Glory to You, Alpha Chimera, the God-Emperor, Master of Chimeras, the Unified Overmind, Supreme Ruler of the Earth.” Marric bowed deeply and took a breath to continue the recital. 

“The short version of my many titles is sufficient.”

“That’s the short version?” Corey whispered across the table and Theo snickered. 

“What’s the latest from the City of the Overmind?” Stiles asked, ignoring them. “Did you receive my message about the Guardian of the Ancient World? I need it to confront our current enemy.”

“Yes, Emperor, it’s…” Marric trailed off as a shadow fell over him and the chimera looked up slowly, seeing the massive tunnelling chimera towering above him. “Right here.”

“Good.” Stiles paused, his eyes blazing as he extended his influence across the Archon’s Palace, using each chimera to bounce his field of control further and further afield, encompassing the entire city and stretching towards the ocean, strategically placed groups of chimeras allowing him to extend his direct influence over thousands of miles until he reached the coasts of Africa. It was another few seconds before he could feel the tingle of power in his fingertips from the harnessing of the Ancient Guardian’s power. Marric’s eyes glowed purple too and Stiles glanced at him when the chimera knelt in front of the camera. “Good…”

“Command me, Alpha.”

“The Guardian of the Ancient World will join me as a weapon of shock and awe to demonstrate to my enemies and the Harvester that they cannot stand against the fury of a legacy that is thousands of years old!” The Emperor sat up straighter on his seat. _Go to the landing strip, Guardian of the Ancient World, and await my loyal followers, they will bring you to me, and I will unleash your hungering wrath on the creature that would ruin my perfect world!_ The Guardian shuffled away and Stiles smirked to himself, seeing Theo and Corey exchange a look. “I’m not expecting that this Harvester will just surrender, and regardless of what the Maw will offer us in the future, this is a weapon we need close by.”

“It might be a good thing, actually.” Theo agreed, “I’ve been meaning to study that chimera for a while now. If we can figure out how a behemoth like that was created, it paves the way for us to start building our own.”

“Do we really need huge chimeras like that, though?”

“Yes, Emperor, we do.” Connor said, averting his eyes as he spoke. “The Chimera Space Program can work with the techniques the humans have been using, but we’ll be waiting quite a few years, decades even, to return to that level of scientific advancement. However, if we can create chimeras that act as vessels to cross the dark void above us, able to withstand the emptiness of space and carry us to new worlds, then Your conquest of the stars can begin quite soon.”

“Did you know about this?” Stiles glanced at Theo and Corey, both of them shaking their heads. “I like that idea, and once we start exploiting other worlds, we can always go back to human spacecraft. Hmm, good job, Connor.”

“I live to serve You, master.”

“Corey, I want you to handle logistics for the transportation of that Guardian, these are the dimensions you’ll be dealing with.” He thought for a moment before noting the numbers down on a square of paper and handing it to the younger chimera. “Use whatever assets we have available. I want that chimera here as soon as possible.”

“Got it.” Corey stood up, smiling at Stiles and Theo, and offered Marric and Connor a nod. “I’ll see you later.”

“Later.” Theo raised his hand and watched the younger chimera leave. 

 

“Emperor,” Marric spoke again, the purple fading from his eyes as Stiles’ influence pulled back to a more immediate area. “We have finished translating the rest of the text inside the temple, it’s been really quite fascinating…”

Theo let the chimera’s words wash over him, ignoring their meaning to study the way Connor was acting. The Guardian Prime’s scent was guarded as usual, Theo was rarely able to get a clear read on his emotions, other than the hard, abrasive sensation that was translated into the word “zealotry”, or the warm, almost comforting feeling of the chimera’s intense loyalty to Stiles. But getting under that, Theo couldn’t penetrate whatever defenses the Guardian Prime used to stop him from seeing if he was happy or interested or aroused. _It doesn’t matter, I suppose. Connor broadcasts a lot of what he’s feeling by the way he stands or moves._ Theo glanced back at the screen where Marric was showing them a piece of the wall nearby with pictograms inscribed on it. He frowned when Connor smiled and nodded, seeing the way the other chimera held his hands loosely, almost all his attention on the screen, on Marric. _Wait, him? You like him?!_

“Problem, Theo?” Stiles asked, arching a brow. “You’re growling under your breath.”

“No, sorry, I was just…never mind.”

“Fine, please continue, Marric.”

“Of course, Emperor.” The chimera inclined his head. “We now believe that while the Overmind was indeed created to deal with a werewolf threat, it also had an encounter with something else. The text indicates that this was a monster of some description, but the pictograms are odd, completely different to the rest of those scattered across the temple and palace.”

“You can’t decipher them?” Connor asked as Theo smirked. “But-”

“Aren’t you meant to be the expert in this area?” The First Chimera glanced at Connor while he spoke. “You better prove you're worth all the investment that’s been put into you, or else…well, all chimeras must serve somehow.”

“Without Marric, there would be no United Overmind.” Connor snarled at him, anger pushing through his scent forcibly. “The Ghost Riders would have overrun us, and you would be no more than floating green mist, _First Chimera._ ”

“Enough!” Stiles barked, glaring at the two of them. “Marric?”

“I said it was an unusual series, master, I did not say that I couldn’t read it.”

Theo grunted as Marric shared a satisfied smile with Connor. “Well, get on with it, then.”

“This monster that the Overmind encountered came from an ‘unknown place,’ so that could be the prison in the Nemeton like the Harvester report says, perhaps a different planet like the Hellscape, or maybe just somewhere here on Earth that the Egyptians and the Overmind didn’t know about.” Marric shrugged. “But it’s very clear that this enemy had some sort of ‘corrupting power’, that whoever warred against it was consumed by an ‘evil river of darkness’ and turned against their friends and rulers. It’s an odd one I know.”

“Indeed, it’s…” Stiles trailed away, his vision blurring as his chest constrained, feeling as though an iron hand gripped his heart and was squeezing. The conference room fell away from him and he was back in the Imperial Palace, sitting on his throne, dozens of chimeras and humans kneeling in front of him. Stiles glanced to one side, frowning as the image flickered and instead of the smooth stone walls surrounding his dais, there were row after row of carved pictograms, the throne feeling less comfortable than usual.

He stood up and walked slowly down the steps, feet cushioned by the pelts of wild animals. _Odd._ The United Overmind stopped in front of a line of shirtless men in pleated skirts, their skin dark and brown from the ruthless sun that pressed down from a square hole in the roof, beaming its brilliance into the center of throne room. Stiles looked at his own hands, more tanned than usual and adorned with gold rings. He reached down and placed his right hand on the forehead of the first man, the accustomed jolt of energy racing up his arm and the new chimera whispering words that were comfortingly familiar. 

“Command me, Alpha.”

The United Overmind looked up suddenly, casting his gaze to the shadows of one of the great pillars that ran the length of the room, seeing a strange figure watching him, seeming to almost fade out of sight before returning with a painful sharpness. The man, if that was what he was, was covered from head to toe in cloth, no flesh at all showing, even his face was hidden with a deep hood. Unease crawled through Stiles’ stomach, but before he could react, the images faded and withered away, his vision returning with a few blinks of his eyes; back in the conference room where Connor and Marric were talking as if nothing had happened and Theo was staring at the screen as though he was sucking a lemon. “Hmm.”

“So, you’re saying that the Harvester could be one of the original Overmind’s ancient enemies?” Connor asked as Marric shrugged. “I know there are hundreds of feet of pictograms in the city, but have you found anything else?”

“Nothing. Just this one wall.” He paused, looking over a report, flipping through the pages quickly. “Wait, sector twenty-seven, over, err, there.” Marric pointed in the distance. “New ruins were found yesterday, but not intact, so I didn’t include them.”

“It’s something at least.” Stiles said, yawning to stretch his jaw. “You’ll check it out?”

“We’ll dig all night if we have to, Emperor!”

“The potential of this discovery could be ground-breaking.” Connor murmured, glancing at Theo and Stiles. “The Overmind has many mysteries to solve, and the Harvester is certainly…”

“What?” Stiles frowned. “Connor, what is it?”

“Master, You said that the Guardian of the Ancient World possesses unique abilities?”

“Yes, the Dread Doctors were terrified of its ability to consume the life force of anyone that approached it without the blessing of the Overmind. We even saw it for ourselves when we sent the human soldiers up there, right, Theo?”

“Right.” The First Chimera nodded. “I think I see where you’re going with this, Connor, continue, please.”

“What if the protector of the City of the Overmind is based in part on the Harvester?” The Guardian Prime glanced at the screen as Marric nodded thoughtfully. “We know they created more chimeras than just the original five, maybe there was an accident and they created the Harvester?”

“Maybe there was no accident at all.” Stiles muttered, recalling the figure from his memory of the United Overmind’s Awakening ceremony. “If someone wanted to destroy the Overmind or steal its power for themselves, they could have created a monster like the Harvester.”

“You know,” Theo stood up abruptly. “I going to leave you guys to the conspiracy theories and see if Corey could use a hand. I’d appreciate the company, Connor.”

“No,” Stiles shook his head and smirked knowingly at Theo. “He needs to remain here; Connor and Marric have worked together quite closely over the past two years, and they are the foremost experts in the field of Ancient Chimera studies.”

“Fine.” The First Chimera growled, stalking from the room. “Keep him.” _Play your games, Stiles, we’ll settle this later._

 

Theo walked along the wide, open corridors of the Archon’s Palace, ignoring the bows and averted stares that he received from the chimeras and humans that he moved past, thoughts still back with Connor and Marric in the conference room. _Well, it’s not like he’s made of stone, and he is gay, so there would have to be some guy he likes. I just didn’t think it’d be Marric…At least there’s an entire ocean between them, so maybe, gah! Why am I thinking about this? It doesn’t even matter!_

The First Chimera pushed through a door into another part of the Palace, following his instincts as they led him to Corey, the chimera’s scent was distinctive enough for Theo to latch onto it without having to concentrate very hard. After a few minutes, Theo found himself at the back of the building, a long apron of tarmac stretching before him, Jackson’s pride of his air fleet, the Black Hawk helicopters, spread out across it. Corey was standing nearby, surrounded by Nick, Philip, and the twins, tablet in hand as he gave them instructions on what to do for the transportation of Stiles’ new chimera. 

“Philip, grab Liam and go down to the landing strip where we came in, I need to be certain that it’s long enough to allow the Antonov to land.” Corey glanced at his tablet. “It’s the only plane that’s big enough to transport the Guardian of the Ancient World. It was captured during the European Campaign, and I’ve already got the regional Archon to organize the flying of it to the City of the Overmind. She’ll send you the specs, so run them by whoever Jackson has down there and we’ll figure something out if it’s likely to overshoot the tarmac. Connor had a runway built in mere hours before the Emperor arrived in Japan last year, so there should be no problem doing the same here.”

“Got it.” Philip bowed and moved away as Theo leant against a nearby trailer and watched. 

“Nick, you, Josh, and Jason need to find us a place to keep the Guardian when it arrives.” Corey looked around helplessly. “This is one _massive_ chimera, so make sure it has plenty of room and won’t smash into anything. I don’t think Jackson would be too happy if we damaged his beautiful city; he’s treating it like his baby, so maybe find somewhere nearer the rainforest?”

“We understand, Minister,” Nick bowed to him, one hand on each of the twin's shoulders. “I think I saw something suitable near the runway actually; it’s closer to the sea than the rainforest though.”

“Hey, anywhere where it can flail around and not kill or wreck things is good!” Corey smiled at them and nodded as they left, glancing over at Theo. “Hi.”

“Hey.” 

“Got fed up of the archaeology talk?”

“Something like that,” Theo shrugged nonchalantly. “They were breaking out the conspiracy theories when I left.”

“Oh, great.” Corey nodded, locking his tablet. “Well, you heard me there, right? There’s only one plane that’s big enough to carry the monster and it’ll take a few days to get prepared and ready to fly to Alexander’s region. Add another day for loading and flight time, and it might be a week before Stiles has his ultimate weapon here.”

“Ok, cool, I’ll tell Stiles, but, uh, do you have to run off? I thought we could hang out, feels like ages since we did.” Theo touched his arm and smiled. “It’s like I see even less of you now than when we were properly at war!”

“It’s a pretty serious conflict though.” Corey handed his tablet to the Guardian nearest the door and untangled Growler’s lead from the chimera’s stationary arm. “Thanks.”

“Sure, but-” Theo bit back his next question and followed Corey and Growler around the side of the palace, down a series of steps towards the ocean. “Why this way?”

“Jackson told me he squared a few miles of the coastline off as his own private beach.” Corey glanced back at him. “He’s actually really chatty once you get him going on his favorite subject: himself. So, I don’t blame you guys too much for leaving me alone with him for that speech; he did all the talking!”

“Haha, that sounds just like Stiles described.” The older chimera grinned. “I wasn’t sure about appointing him an Archon though, but I guess the Emperor knows what he’s doing.”

“I hope so, the Harvester freaks me out.” Corey paused as Growler snuffled around in the dirt beside the steps, shaking his head and sneezing. “I know a lot has already happened, but we need to end this threat before it grows any bigger, we can’t lose any more chimeras, Theo.”

“I know, it’s why we’re here: a soft contain to keep the Harvester from leaving. Not that it seems to want to move from that city it’s building in the rainforest anyway.”

“Hmm,” Corey shrugged and released Growler from his lead when they arrived on the deserted beach, the puppy immediately bounding across the sands towards the water. The chimera pulled off his shoes and socks and stood on the hot sand with a contented sigh. “We don’t do this often enough at home.”

“Maybe not,” Theo smirked as he watched Growler struggle with a long branch of driftwood, trying to bring it over to Corey. “But then, you don’t rule the world by sitting on a deck chair.”

“What about when you already rule it?”

“You heard Stiles and Connor in there; the stars themselves are his ambitions.”

“You think that’s even possible?” Corey paused before sitting on the sand and tossing the stick for his dog to fetch.

“Well, a few years ago, I was watching chimeras be made and die a few hours or days later and I thought that was all we ever going to be: that there would never be another successful chimera.” Theo gazed at the ocean in front of them. “But I was wrong, and never in my wildest dreams did I think that we’d be the dominant power on the entire planet. So, yeah, Corey, if anyone is going to get themselves a sprawling space empire ruled by chimeras, it’s gonna be Stiles.”

“Hmm, not much point thinking about it now since we still have to destroy the Harvester, huh?” Corey chewed on his nails absently. “I remember what the Corrupted look like, but that was only small scale, this monster _ate_ a two-thousand-mile strip of land! What is it gonna do when it has a base of operations to launch attacks from?”

“I’m not sure, but Connor and Marric were talking about how they think the Harvester might have been a chimera experiment that went wrong: an Ancient chimera experiment.” The First Chimera nodded when Corey stared at him. “I know, but they have evidence from the City of the Overmind, and Connor even suggested that the Guardian of the Ancient World is an advanced form of the Harvester, since it can strip the flesh and blood from its enemies.”

“Devouring them…” Corey whispered with a shudder. He smiled when Theo pulled him closer, arm around his shoulders. “Thanks.”

“We’ll beat it, Corey, we always do, even if that means allying with some very shady characters.”

“You mean the Maw?”

“Yeah,” Theo’s expression hardened. “Stiles might be willing to overlook the fact I was trapped in there for a long time in order to get his alliance, but my gut tells me that the Maw wants more than just friendship in return for the Ghost Riders’ souls.”

“Probably,” The younger chimera sighed. “But I bet that Stiles has a plan, even if he’s not telling us, he always does.”

 

They got up after another twenty minutes of sunning themselves and began to walk back up the steps towards the Archon’s Palace, Growler’s wet coat drying in the intense midday sun. Corey glanced at Theo, “So, um, how are things with you and Connor?”

“What do you mean?”

“Nothing, just you guys seemed to be getting along better.”

“Oh.” Theo scowled. “Well, the détente between us has passed, I think. I snapped at Marric earlier and Connor jumped down my throat, so probably back to warring.”

“And you don’t want that?” He asked carefully, climbing the final flight and leading Theo towards the upper terraces. 

“Well, no, I don’t.” Theo spoke hesitantly, his tone slipping between nervousness and confidence. “Maybe I’m coming around to Connor, he’s, well, you’d have to be blind not to see he’s a good-looking guy. And for all that zealous fire and fury he spouts, you won’t find anyone more devoted to the Emperor and Stiles’ vision for the future.”

“So, you admire him?”

“In a way,” Theo smirked, his gaze locked onto the glinting waves far out to sea, the sun hot overhead. “I like his ability to go from cold to red hot in an instant if you do something that goes against his beliefs. He has charisma like you wouldn’t believe; it’s why he’s been able to unify the Empire with his religion and raise an army that’s more zealous than he is. Plus, he’s not afraid to get his claws bloody, mmh…”

“Hey!” Corey snapped his fingers in front of Theo’s face. “No blood fantasies around me, remember?”

“Oh, yeah, sorry.” Theo wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, shrugging at the younger chimera. “It’s just…you don’t like it, Stiles tolerates it, but Connor actually, well he did it, and since I can’t read his scent all the time, maybe he did enjoy it? Hmm, I’m making it sound like I’m totally into him, huh?”

“No shit, Theo!” Corey cried out, exasperated. “We’ve all noticed! You’re not yourself around him, especially these last few days; following him, defending him, getting har-”

“Ok, ok,” The chimera growled. “I get it.”

“I don’t think you do.” Corey shook his head. “Connor doesn’t like you, he doesn’t trust you, in fact he considers you to be everything the Chimera Empire shouldn’t be.”

“Well, opposites do attract!”

“Don’t you remember that he thought you were plotting to kill Stiles and take his power during the second Overmind surgery? He even filled the room with Guardians, so you couldn’t do it.”

“You say that like I was planning on actually doing it.” Theo glared at him. “And even if I did, I’d be dead before I got two steps outside the door.”

“Funny, that’s what he said.” The younger chimera mumbled.

“Yeah, well, you’re a fine one to talk,” He sighed, sitting on a nearby bench, Corey following him over. “Do you think we haven’t noticed that you’re spending so much time with Garrett again? He kidnapped you and Connor, he tried to kill Stiles several times. Why are you giving him a second chance?”

“I thought your whole bit was that we’re the villains, Theo?” Corey wrapped Growler’s lead around his wrist. “That means we can do what we want and not have to explain it. But I like Garrett, I always have. That’s not to say that I’m leaving you and Stiles or anything, I don’t want you guys to kill each other if I’m not there to stop it.”

“That shouldn’t be the first reason you think of for staying together, Corey.” Theo looked at him. “And you filled that role pretty well when we were all just friends. Besides, you really think Connor would let me kill Stiles?”

“No.”

“Right, so, maybe you need to start thinking about what you want in the future.” He gestured dismissively. “This little hiccup with the Harvester is nothing to fret over, and once it’s dealt with, the world will be ours again; anything you want, you can have; even if that is Garrett.”

“Maybe.” Corey fell silent and watched a young couple pass them by, pushing a stroller. The humans paused and bowed deeply to them, hurrying onwards. “Theo?”

“Mmh?”

“Why does Stiles want to allow chimeras to have children, why can’t we just keep building them the normal way?”

“A lot has changed since I took over production from the Dread Doctors.” Theo replied, watching the man and woman walk away from them. “Our methods have evolved, and capacities expanded. We can create chimeras for deployment all over the world and Awaken them by batches; we still do the one-on-one chimera Awakenings because Stiles likes the power rush. But he wants to get to a stage where he no longer spends a considerable part of his day on Awakening new chimeras. Instead, he believed that if we could create some sort of common genetic sequence that chimeras could pass down to each other, new chimeras would be born rather than made. His scientists appeared to have isolated this sequence and have confirmed that it’s bonded to the Alpha Chimera in the adults.”

“Ok, I think I understand.”

“Good, because the next part is much more complicated!” Theo smirked when Corey groaned. “The idea is that once Stiles is able to control the naturally born chimeras, it should be pretty easy to then add different essences to them in order to create the types of chimeras he wants once they reach a certain age, maybe twelve or fourteen. This would be particularly important once we start space exploration, as we don’t want to have to have chimeras coming back and forth across the system just to be Awakened.”

“Naturally,” Corey murmured. _Space exploration?! Even Theo is climbing on the bandwagon!_

“Well, the interesting thing will be that not every chimera will want children; I sure don’t and neither does Stiles,” Theo continued as Corey nodded in agreement. “They’ll be able to take the immortality route instead. Dr Kadar and his team have been working with the scientists and researchers in Victory City, and he told me recently that the, uh, _Purple_ Serum-”

“They’re actually calling it that?” He groaned, rolling his eyes. “Is it even purple?”

“Probably, they’re not in it for the whimsy.” Theo shrugged. “Anyway, their research using the Ancient chimeras is what has allowed them to come up with the serum. It’ll halt aging at a certain point; they’ve theorized that it would need to be reapplied every seven years to stop aging from beginning again. And it'll happen on both the inside and the outside. But the problem is that if you look like a sixteen-year-old because that’s when you took the serum, but are actually eighty, and wanted to have kids, then in sixteen years’ time…”

“Your kid would look the same age as you.” Corey finished with a grimace. “That could raise some questionable ethical issues.”

“Exactly, Stiles doesn’t want to deal with that shit, so, it’s likely to be a mutually exclusive choice: either have kids or take the serum.” Theo nodded. “Regardless of how many choose immortality over having a family, the Empire will still need to grow its population, and we have a whole lot of humans and the remaining supernaturals to convert into chimeras.”

“Do I need to even ask what you’ll choose?”

“Pft!” Theo snorted, “Why would I ever turn down the chance to be hot, young, and live forever?!”

“Right.” Corey smirked, “It makes a lot of sense in one way, if you’re going to have a Space Empire, you need immortal chimeras to cross the stars and never get old or die.”

“Well…” The First Chimera pursed his lips, “Immortal? Yes. Invulnerable? No. So don’t get any plans about diving into the sun, Corey!”

 

“What about here?” Josh gestured around at the clearing near the runway, the crash of waves a few hundred feet behind him. “It doesn’t look like anyone comes out here, and there’s plenty of room for it to, err, do its thing?”

“Hmm, maybe.” Nick nodded and gestured for them to follow. “Let’s head back to the terminal, we should have as clear an exit route for this chimera as possible: off the plane and onto the tarmac with no fuss, and then straight into the jungle. Agreed?”

“Yeah,” Jason followed them back through the trees, hopping over fallen logs and small streams that flowed down from the nearby mountains. “Have you ever seen it, Nick?”

“Once, it’s not exactly something I want to see again.”

“But you’re not afraid of anything!”

“Hah, this is something that was designed to be terrifying, no matter who is looking at it.” The Dragon replied, helping Josh over a tricky bit. “The monster is huge, can turn invisible, tunnel through the earth, oh, and has the ability to suck the flesh from your bones en masse. Even if it does nothing to the Harvester, which I doubt, it will ensure the human and supernatural enemies of the Empire will have second thoughts about rebelling against us.”

“Do you think there’ll be another one?” Josh asked as they finally got out onto the scrubland in front of the long, paved runway. “Rebellion, I mean?”

“Maybe, it’s hard to tell, I don’t receive any special Intelligence briefings on the subject.” He shrugged. “But I know people are tired of war, Greenberg has been doing a great job keeping the population satisfied, and he’ll spin whatever we do down here, so it always looks good.”

“But isn’t that lying?” Jason asked, walking alongside his brother and his boyfriend. “Some of my friends from the capital say that the Emperor spins too much, that maybe we should be hearing the truth more than the idealized version. That’s what they’re saying!” He added defensively when Nick’s eyes narrowed. “I met them that one afternoon in the cathedral when you were gone to training and Josh was running an errand for Brett.”

“I see.” The Dragon shook his head. “It doesn’t matter what your friends say, the Emperor cannot be wrong, and He alone knows what is best for the Empire to believe.”

“Sure.” Jason muttered, slowing as they passed by Philip and Liam talking to the engineers about the runway. The chimera glared at Liam, not hiding his hostility from his scent until Josh pulled him away and they walked on.

“What’s your deal with him? Did he cut you in line or something?”

“He’s not a real chimera, not like us!”

“What?” Nick stared at him. “Explain yourself.”

“It’s what my friends say; only pure chimeras should be allowed within the Empire and the others, the ones who were werewolves first, they should be expunged.” Jason replied stoically. 

“Ok, who are these ‘friends’ of yours? Are they members of the Faithful?”

“Mmh, not really, they said that they were part of the original founding members of the Cult of the Emperor in Ascendence.”

“Ah, _them,_ ” Nick muttered distastefully. “They are the remnants of the zealots from the early days of the chimera religion, purged in Japan before the end of the war to make way for a more tolerant and inclusive church to unite the Empire. The Guardian Prime will be glad you found and infiltrated them for us.”

“What? But I-” Jason was cut off with a grunt from the Dragon, his burning wings flashing once. “Ok, I infiltrated them because I knew they were, err, disloyal?”

“You’ll need to be more convincing.”

“Why?” Josh looked between them. “I mean, sure, this cult or whatever sounds like a hate group, but why does he have to convince anyone?”

“The Guardian Prime is authorized to root out any sedition or threats to Imperial unity, and what your brother just spouted is reason enough for Connor to accuse him of treason.” Nick looked up at the Archon’s Palace high on the mountain behind them. “The Emperor is the one who came up with the plan to convert the werewolves into chimeras, using Brett to achieve His goals, to oppose His plan is to oppose the Chimera Emperor Himself.”

“I…I guess I didn’t think about that.” Jason muttered. “Shit. What do I do?”

“You will give me the names of the heretics and I will forward them to the Prophet of the Emperor, who will likely instruct the high-ranking members of the Faithful to lead a purge against them.” Nick explained as he gestured for them to return to the clearing. “I will try and keep your name out of this, Jason, but if he asks me, I won’t be able to lie.”

“But that’s just the Guardian Prime, surely you can…or not.”

“The Guardian Prime is the Orator of the Emperor’s Divine Will, to lie to him is as good as lying to the Emperor!” The Dragon shook his head. “So, I will tell him what I know, and in the meantime, you can watch the latest series of educational and enlightenment videos that have been produced, to ensure you can convince Connor that you were acting in the interests of Imperial unity when you supported those ‘friends.’”

“But, won’t that be lying?” He frowned, confused.

“If it saves your life and doesn’t put anyone else in danger,” Josh glanced at Nick, getting an approving nod. “Then maybe it’s ok?”

“Right.” They were passing by Liam again and Jason stopped. “Go on, I’ll catch up with you.” He waited until they were out of earshot and walked over to Liam and Philip. “Excuse me, Liam?”

“What?”

“Can I talk to you for a minute, alone?” Jason waited for him to nod, Philip watching carefully as they walked out to the middle of the runway. “Um.”

“What is it?” Liam folded his arms and nodded expectantly at the chimera. “Go on.”

“I wanted to apologize.” He looked at the ground for a moment before raising his eyes to meet Liam’s, the were… **other** chimera being slightly shorter than him. “For everything I’ve said before, I mean, after you became a chimera.”

“Thank you,” Liam replied simply.

“Right, um, I should go.”

“Sure.” He nodded, and Jason took off, running towards the others. “Well, more than I’ve got from some of the other chimeras…”

 

“Is Corey still supervising the transfer?” Stiles asked as Theo entered the terrace where he was eating lunch, “Or is he with you?”

“No, he’s still working on that, trying to get the Archon to speed up the preparation of the plane and find someone who can actually fly that thing.” Theo sat in the chair next to him, nodding at Connor, the Guardian Prime standing behind Stiles as usual. “Is there something you need him for?”

“It’s fine,” Stiles shook his head. “I was just going to ask his opinion on what we should do with Ghost is all.”

“What do you mean?” Theo frowned. “She left Corey to be taken in the middle of battle, she disobeyed your command, not sure how, but-”

“It wasn’t a command,” Stiles muttered, angry with himself. “I wasn’t controlling her, you had almost been killed, if it wasn’t for Connor…I was distracted, she slipped away in that moment.”

“It is what she was trained to do, master.” The Guardian Prime rumbled behind them. “Ghost is a highly skilled infiltrator, it is why I recommended that she remain under house arrest in her chambers, not thrown into one of the Archon’s cells.”

“Come around.” The Emperor gestured until Connor stood in front of their table. “Good, now we can actually see you.”

“You think she’d escape from her cell?” Theo asked, his eyes unable to resist flicking down to Connor’s pristine gauntlets.

“I have known Ghost for long enough to be able to identify the levers we can pull to manipulate her.” Connor replied emotionlessly. “She is headstrong and over-confident, the results of having survived the deadly War for the United States. Ghost came out the other side with skills that are lethal, efficient, perfect, even; praise heaped upon her by the Emperor Himself.”

“She did do a good job for us, Connor.” Stiles pointed out. “I know that you and she butted heads more than once; you never liked her tactics.”

“I never liked the fact that her morals could be easily swayed.” The Guardian Prime replied, eyes glowing red for a moment, before fading back to purple. “She followed us because it suited her to live, as it does now. I guarantee that if You hauled Ghost into this room right this moment, she would declare her undying loyalty to You, to the Empire, to all chimerakind.” 

“Well, that sounds like fun,” Theo grinned, “Bring her in and let’s see!”

Stiles shot him a withering glance and shook his head. “I hear what you’re saying, Connor, but many of the victories we claimed during that war were engineered by Ghost; I’m not cutting her loose after so many faithful years of service.”

“Hmm, well, you know, I’m with Connor on this one, Emperor.” Theo said, looking at each of them. “There must be a reason why you never spoke about her or I never met her, not to mention the fact she was allowed to leave and go live in the middle of a rainforest, huh?”

“There are reasons for all of that.” Stiles replied after a moment of silent contemplation. He nodded. “I’m sure Connor has told you all the background already: the assault in Washington D.C., the attack on the Pentagon, our chase to find the President and end the campaign?”

“He might have mentioned it.”

“Ghost was an effective infiltrator and assassin before the Arlington strike, but it was only after that she really became the ruthless chimera I needed for my war.” Stiles looked directly at Connor. “You rescued her, not merely that, you prompted a choice that would have broken almost any other chimera, but Ghost didn’t shatter, she endured, became as strong and cold as was needed for the brutal weeks of war we had yet to see. Don’t look too surprised, Connor, I am all-knowing after all.”

“Of course, master, I only-”

“It doesn’t matter, my Guardian Prime, you did what I would expect from my most loyal chimera.” Stiles gestured vaguely and smiled at him, glancing at Theo’s slowly shaking head. “If you’re wondering if it was a setup, you’re only half wrong; I did want Ghost to fall for that officer and provide a means to excise that weakness from her. But I never thought that she would put us in danger, never thought I might risk losing you, Guardian Prime. It all worked out in the end though; I got some perspective on what was important to me and how I needed to protect that, and Ghost became the chimera I required.”

“So, that’s when you started augmenting Connor?” Theo asked, eyes on the armored chimera. “Huh, no wonder I never saw the surgeries.”

“You were still doing valuable work in the Fount of Glory, Theo, and I wasn’t intentionally hiding anything from you at first.”

“Water under the bridge, St-Emperor,” He corrected himself quickly and rested his chin on his hand. “Especially, when the results are so…magnificent!” 

Stiles rolled his eyes and continued with his story. “Ghost did rack up quite the body count after the Arlington strike, that’s true, and she wasn’t a big believer in preventing collateral damage either. I think she directly killed about five hundred people and indirectly, a few thousand.”

“Such is the way of war, master.” Connor said quickly, gesturing expansively. “We all have blood on our claws, but when it is the blood of our enemies, then it is justified!”

“Oh, I agree with that!” Theo grinned eagerly. “Always game for more blood!”

“She delivered the President of the United States to us though,” Stiles ignored his hungry tone. “And with his signature and execution, the first conquest was complete. So too were Ghost’s missions, I decided that the price of keeping her active was too high and offered her a unique opportunity to leave the Empire and return to her native Brazil. Her history of service granted her sufficient benefits to live out her years in comfort. But as we saw yesterday, she remains selfish and absorbed, she does not espouse the ideals of the modern Chimera Empire.”

“Are you suggesting we kill her?”

“I’m not sure,” He shrugged. “I kept an eye on her location, I wanted to know that my generosity wouldn’t be turned back against me and bring ruin to all that I have achieved.”

“She still left Corey to save herself,” Theo said, his voice becoming distant until Stiles found himself alone on a vast plain of seething, writhing, black ooze, oceans of goop as far as he could see in every direction. The sky above him was a bruised yellow and brown, thunder rolling in the distance and lightning flashing overhead. He glanced down at his hands, the same tanned skin as before, his mind pulling him towards the mysterious figure in his throne room. The United Overmind began to walk forward, the black ooze burning under his feet, as sheets of brilliant orange fire lanced through the goop. He looked up when a towering statue crumbled into dust before him, the goop crawling up to claim the stone and rush it back to a massive black shape at the horizon, a shapeless creature whose mouth stretched across the sky and was filled with hundreds of rows of red teeth. 

Stiles was about to back away when he bumped into someone behind him, their hands pushing him forward again. The United Overmind looked over his shoulder, seeing a lightly armored chimera nodding at him, handsome face and muscular arms laid bare, a sense of comfort coming over Stiles as he nodded and moved forward. A single though echoed through his mind when the vision faded, and he was pulled back to the present. _Has this happened before?_

“I still think Ghost should be executed for failing to protect Corey, right, Stiles?” Theo glanced at Stiles, seeing the same momentary confusion as earlier. Just as he was about to ask what the matter was, Nick entered the terrace and bowed to them. “Problems?”

“Not with the task assigned to us, First Chimera.” The Dragon straightened up and turned to Connor. “Guardian Prime, I must speak with you; it is a matter regarding the Church of the Emperor in Ascendence.”

“Very well, outside, please.” Connor inclined his head at Theo and bowed fully to Stiles. “Emperor.”

“Don’t go yet, Theo,” Stiles grabbed his wrist. “We still have things to talk about.”

 

“It’s pretty big.” Liam craned his neck back to look at the statue.

“It is big.” Jackson agreed. “About a hundred and fifty feet, bigger than the original.” 

“What’s it called again?” 

“‘The Merciful Chimera Emperor,’ of course.” Jackson replied proudly. “It’s made of polished limestone with a concrete core and faces exactly north-west in the direction of Victory City.”

“The crown is a nice touch.” Liam said politely. “Is this some sort of Archon thing? You all seem to be building statues and monuments to the Chimera Emperor and the others.”

“Orders from the Imperial Council,” The Archon shrugged, pointing to the edge of the mountain, Liam joining him. “Beautify and glorify the Emperor and his many achievements. There’s plenty of money floating about and every chimera and loyalist in the city was only too happy to help put it together in a few weeks. Especially now that I’m a full chimera, they don’t question me anymore and I can start re-shaping the city to be one of the jewels of the Empire!” 

“Uh huh.” Liam smirked at Jackson as he spread his arms out wide. “You’ll be relieved to know that Mason is doing a lot better, even got his mind wiped so there’s no more risk to you if he decided to rebel fully.”

“Ah, I don’t know what you’re talking about, you must have me confused with someone else.” 

“Right, my mistake.” He nodded, looking around carefully. “Point being that he’s happy in his new role with the Engineering Corps and remembers only that he joined up after the Battle of Beacon Hills and has been a loyal chimera ever since.”

“That’s good.” Jackson replied. “I’m sure you had conflicting feelings about it, but everyone has done some things they’d rather forget; I certainly do. So, you made the best decision for him, the Emperor is too strong to fight against, as the Harvester will soon find out.”

“You're really going gung-ho into the Imperial pride thing, huh?”

“I’m an Archon, Liam,” The chimera smirked and looked nobly out over his city. “I must lead by example, and never question the Emperor or contradict his statements. If you serve loyally, you will be rewarded!”

“Maybe you should talk to Scott then.” Liam muttered, brows pulling together. “He’s back, he’s kinda different, but I don’t know, I still see the fire in his eyes whenever I look at him.”

“Yeah, I heard about the ritual, you have to respect someone who would pull his former best friend from death itself just to use him as a weapon in his war.” Jackson met Liam’s glare. “No? Fear, then. So, when’s the next rebellion happening?!”

“Joke all you want, Jackson, Scott is content to run around and save all the werewolves for now.” Liam joined him at the railing. “It’s after that I’m worried about.” 

“If only Scott _believed,_ ” The Archon said as silence stretched between them. “He could achieve a lot more than just helping some traitorous werewolves become chimeras. Scott could never be an Archon, of course, he can’t be trusted, and there’s the fact that he was once the ultimate enemy of the Empire, whose name could not be spoken.”

“Your point?”

“My point is that I stay in control of this region not because I’m a tyrant or even because my power was given to me by the Emperor, but because I am a chimera and I fully commit to the Imperial belief system; take part in their religion, send recruits for chimera conversion, be willing to offer everything to elevate the Emperor and bring glory to the Empire!” Jackson stood a little straighter, looking up at the towering statue of Stiles. “Scott…well, some people just weren’t meant to survive the change of the world. Let him do what he was brought back for, and then send him to The Retreat, out of everyone’s way. He can live out his life, be thankful that he didn’t have to be a werewolf during the wars of conquest.”

“He won’t do anything stupid.”

“You and I both know that Scott’s definition of stupid ignores the type of action that could get him killed. And, we're also aware that the…” He paused as a group of chimeras bowed to him and posed in front of the statue, Jackson gestured for Liam to follow as he continued. “The divine Chimera Emperor will not spare him, even if personally he wanted to, politically, his position has become more complicated.”

“What do you mean?” Liam frowned as Jackson leaned in closer.

“The Imperial Council issued an edict yesterday that reinforced the power the Guardian Prime wields in terms of determining what is heretical and comes under his jurisdiction.” He wet his lips and brought Liam into the sheltered space under the statue’s plinth. “They’re concentrating authority around Connor in order to run the Empire more efficiently…on Earth.”

“What?”

“There are rumors that when the Empire ascends to space, the Emperor intends to rule from orbit and leave Earth to Connor.” Jackson saw Liam’s smirk and shrugged. “Sure, it might be a few years until that happens, but if it happens sooner, Scott could find himself back in the ground without so much as a trial. Keep him safe, Liam, don’t let him even think that there’s a possibility to fight back, or hide a secret plan, or hell, try and save Stiles.” He whispered the name softly as Liam nodded.

“Ok, thanks for the information.” Liam chewed his lip thoughtfully and they walked back towards the Archon’s Palace in silence.

 

“I don’t like him like that!” Theo protested loudly as Stiles sat quietly looking at him. “I swear!”

“Theo, even if I didn’t have eyes, I have a nose, and greatly enhanced senses because of the Overmind.” 

“That’s irrelevant!”

“C’mon, be honest with me.” Stiles replied patiently. “Do you like Connor? Or, let me be more precise, do you like that he doesn’t show his aversion to your blood fixation?”

“Well, the second one sounds better.” Theo muttered, scratching the table with his claws. “He didn’t seem to mind when we killed that group of heretics. And maybe if I go ‘heretic hunting’ with him in the future, then there won’t be any strain on our relationship; with both me and you, and me and Corey.”

“Ah, and we get to the root of the problem.” Stiles nodded. “I don’t really care if you go with Connor and massacre dozens of heretics or traitors, as long as you only do it with him, of course. I don’t care if that’s your way to get bloody and get off. What I do care about is Corey, and how much he’s sacrificing to stay with us.”

“Shouldn’t he be here if we’re going to talk about him?”

“Later, I need to talk to you, first.” Stiles replied firmly, standing and walking down the steps towards the infinity pool, the deep, blue ocean visible beyond the cliff’s edge. “Connor has made himself very clear: he’s my bodyguard and that’s about it. He doesn’t like you very much-”

“Oh, trust me, I know.” Theo cut in, following Stiles over. “Corey reminded me of that earlier. I don’t need him to like me back, I just-”

“AH HA!” Stiles whirled around and grinned at him. “I knew you liked him!”

“Err, yeah.” The First Chimera avoided his eyes, the unfamiliar feeling of heat sweeping up his neck. “I’m blaming you for this emotional attachment to others!”

“Really? Well, tell me what you were going to say.”

“That I only need him to tolerate me while he’s killing heretics; it’s all about the blood, Stiles.”

“Haha,” The Emperor nodded. “I don’t think you’re in any danger of developing any real _feelings_ for our enemies, Theo. In fact, I hope you don’t; you’ll need your edge.”

“To deal with the Harvester, sure.”

“But as well as that, you need it to spark with Connor.” Stiles held his gaze for a moment, before looking back at the ocean. “It’s something I’ve noticed about you, Theo. You thrive on that edge of aggression between yourself and the Guardian Prime, the conflict makes your pulse spike and your claws itch, and something else gets a little throb every time you clash against him too. It’s why you were so turned on when he actually beat you up during our little blood letting ceremony a while ago.”

“Maybe.” Theo grunted.

“No maybe about it, you love the friction, just like how you used to argue with Corey and clash against him, especially when he started to fight back and show his, hah, fangs.” Stiles gestured between them. “It’s why we still get along so well: we fight, and we collide, and we engineer outrages to make the other fume, but we still value each other the same, do we not?”

“I always value you, Stiles.” The First Chimera said quietly. “But just because all of that might be true, doesn’t mean I want anything to change.”

“It has to.” Stiles looked at the water in front of them, his eyes glowing purple as he mimicked the abilities of an air Elemental chimera nearby, waves rushing across the surface of the otherwise undisturbed pool. “You spoke to Corey, tell me that he’s happy, and I’ll drop this.”

“You know I can’t tell you that.” Theo sighed. “He spends his time alone with his dog, or else with Garrett and whatever escort the prisoner still has. Corey even told me himself that he’s only staying with us to stop the fighting.”

“If Garrett hadn’t rebelled-”

“But he did, there’s no point in dealing with the possibilities of other people’s choices, Stiles.” The chimera replied forcefully. “Sure, Corey and you and I haven’t really been hitting our stride properly in the bedroom for a while, but we can fix that. Everything looks better after you’ve had a good pounding!”

“Eloquent as ever, Theo.” Stiles smirked. “We’ll speak with him about this in the evening, which will be appropriate considering that Garrett and Brett and a few others are flying in from the capital tonight.” 

“Why?”

“I need more firepower; the Generals are quietly pulling the Chimera Army into formations across the regional sectors, so that we can call upon them when the attack on that city begins.” Stiles turned away from the pool as the rippling water reminded him unpleasantly of the waves of ooze from his earlier visions. “You can swim if you want, I must consult the Ancient chimeras, there’s something they haven’t told me.”

“I didn’t think they actually spoke!” Theo called after him, before shrugging and stripping off, diving into the infinity pool.

 

Connor rose and bowed deeply as the Emperor entered the large, circular room he was sitting in with the Ancient chimeras. “Master, You honor us with Your presence.”

“Thanks,” He gestured for him to sit again, joining the group. “Chimeras.”

“Emperor,” Sobek replied, the crocodile’s mouth moved awkwardly to form the words as the muscles of the young man’s body underneath rippled when he execute a bow. “The Guardian tells us that this is Your title.”

“That’s right.” The Emperor looked at Connor. “Do you speak with them a lot?”

“The Ancient chimeras appear to be most at home in the cathedral, near Your likeness, Emperor.” Connor nodded. “Their animal features can look unnerving when forming our words, but they are all intelligent, mastering the language quickly. They have been of great assistance in the work on the immortality serum, as You can see, their bodies are young and flexible, the same now as they were several thousand years ago.”

“Yes, I remember.” The Emperor paused, “I mean, I imagine so.”

“Is everything alright, master?”

“I’ve been having…” He trailed off, Taweret, the hippopotamus-headed chimera staring at him unblinkingly. “Um, it’s a matter for another time. I’m here mainly to speak about Theo.”

“Theo.” Connor nodded shortly. “What about the First Chimera?”

“No games, Connor, not between us.” The Emperor took a breath, “Theo likes you, and despite the fact that he acted ridiculously jealous about me and you for months on end, he still has feelings for you that go beyond the shedding of blood to sate his kink. I think that he’d even be ok with us working something out…if that is something you’d like?”

“Command me, Alpha.” He replied, choosing the careful response, even as his master sighed at him, exasperation on the air. “I will follow Your commands, Emperor, though that is all they can be. You are a god, the United Overmind, and I am merely-”

“A fragment cast off from the whole is still a part of Him, Guardian!” Bastet interrupted, the cat’s ears perking up as both Horus and Anubis nodded their agreement. “All of the Overmind must be present for the power to be harnessed.”

“What is she talking about?”

“Emperor,” Connor wet his lips, glad for the sudden tangent back onto familiar ground. “There is a way to tap into the inherent power contained within the Ancient chimeras; specifically, these chimeras. If You stand into the center of the circle and I’ll kneel in front of You, they’ll channel their abilities through me.”

“Like the Conduit?” The Emperor grinned, remembering the chimera he had used to siphon the Hellhound’s fire during the Battle of Beacon Hills. “You won’t die, though?”

“No, master.” Connor assumed his position and nodded at Bastet, the Ancient chimeras reaching out to touch him, a tingle racing across his skin. “And it’s only for the first time; the attunement, as they call it. Make as though You are about to Awaken me, and You’ll see.”

“Very well.” The Emperor stood closer to him and stretched out his hand, three fingers touching Connor’s forehead, thumb and little finger on his cheek. “I don’t feel anything.”

“You will!” 

 

Stiles jolted backwards, breaking the connection as a surge of energy rippled through him. “What the hell?” He lifted his hands slowly as Connor and the Ancient chimeras stood up. “What happened?” The Chimera Emperor flexed his fingers experimentally and stared as the chairs they had been sitting on floated upwards. “Uh, Connor?”

“In order to prove that the United Overmind was served by the gods themselves, the Ancient chimeras were given a range of abilities that, well, I don’t understand _how_ they work, but they allow You to control the effects of gravity. It may be some sort of Elemental chimera combination, but we’d need the First Chimera to look at that, but gravity powers sound a lot cooler, right?” Connor laughed quietly and held up his hands. “The range of the ability is extremely limited and lasts only a few minutes: You need all five chimeras and all parts of the Overmind present to use their gravity-based attacks.”

“So, you need to be next to me too, huh? Ok, I can pay that price.” Stiles grinned at him. “What sort of powers are we talking about here?”

“You’ve already seen the Lift ability,” Connor explained. “I believe that this was what helped the Overmind build the city in the desert; manipulating stone and raising it into place. There’s a compression ability that allows You to exert force on an object or _thing_ and perhaps stuff it back where it came from?”

“Or into the Maw.” Stiles grinned even wider. “And what else?”

“An explosive force attack, I call it the Grav-Wave,” Connor shrugged as Stiles arched a brow. “We tried a small version of the attack back in the Imperial Palace when I returned from the Harvester’s prison. It seems to be an attack that generates extremely high-gravity bands of energy that when released destroy everything in their path; there’s a training room that needs to be restocked…”

“Haha, why didn’t you tell me about this earlier?”

“I wanted to know as much as possible before bringing it to Your attention, Emperor.” Connor replied simply. “And to make sure these techniques were safe to use.”

“You have done well, my chimera.” Stiles whispered, closing his hand into a fist, purple eyes flaring. “Finally, some powers of my own!”

 

The Chimera Emperor stood on the apron of the runway as the evening sun sank below the horizon, flushes of red and orange racing across the sky. Corey had rushed ahead to greet the C-17s landing nearby, chimeras and equipment being offloaded onto the tarmac. Theo and Connor were flanking him, and Stiles took a deep breath, ignoring the scent of aviation fuel heavy in the air, for some reason he kept smelling a faint trace of perfume. Before he could question it, Stiles’ vision blurred, and he felt himself sinking into another memory of the United Overmind. _Here we go again, what fresh horrors await?_

Stiles looked around, he was outside, the setting sun a disc of white brilliance in the far distance, across a vast temple complex, flags fluttering in the gentle wind, thousands of kneeling supplicants before him. And beside him was the lightly armored Guardian from before, joined on his right by a man in a short, pleated skirt, rich folds of purple added into the linen. His face was covered by a hood, and he was gesturing vaguely at the chimeras around him, their purple eyes glowing intently. “What did you say?” Stiles asked, the words becoming the language Marric and Connor spoke when translating the pictograms from the City of the Overmind. 

“The One Who Gathers was the result of a terrible experiment, Overmind,” The man bowed low. “The priest responsible has fled, we do not know where he is, only that the monster has escaped into the dunes.”

“Then we must find him…” 

 

“What?!” Stiles barked suddenly, wrenched back to the present when Theo touched his arm. Pain exploded across his forehead and he grimaced, leaning against his boyfriend. “Argh!”

“Emperor, are You alright?”

“Fine, Connor, fine.” He managed to stand on his own. “Just a…vision is all.”

“Vision?” Theo stared at him. “What sort of vision?”

“Well, more like a memory; the Overmind is showing me parts of its previous iteration’s life, specifically parts to do with the Harvester.” The Emperor stood up straighter. “Gather the Inner Pack, I think I have an idea for how we’re going to fight this monster.”

“As You command, Emperor.”


	7. War Creep

The earth exploded in a shower of gore and Theo rolled out of the way as the chimera next to him vanished, the attack of the Corrupted catching him off-guard. “Watch out!”

“Got it!” Connor called back, slamming his fist into the ground, a seismic shockwave arcing away from him felling trees and throwing the Corrupted into the air in time for Stiles to lash out with a bolt of electricity, zapping the goo-covered creature’s weak-point. “Nice.” The Guardian Prime nodded approvingly when the head exploded in a spurt of goop. 

“Thanks.” Stiles replied with a smirk. “At least we’re making progress.”

“Maybe.” Theo shrugged, raising his voice as the squad of fire chimeras advanced ahead of them, he could see the gouts of blue-orange flame spearing through the thick foliage and hear the screams of the goop-covered nightmares as they slithered away from the chimera forces. “I still don’t think this is a good idea!”

“The latest satellite images show the Harvester’s city is expanding rapidly, we need to contain it.” Connor said, motioning for the remaining squads to advance. “Until we figure out how to stop it, this is our best course of action, don’t You agree, master?”

“Of course, Connor.” Stiles grinned at him and Theo nodded. “Besides, I’ve been wanting to try out the Ancient chimeras’ new unified powers and this represents the ideal opportunity.”

“You must be careful, Emperor, the Ancient chimeras only have limited strength. They will need to rest before using the abilities again.”

“Don’t worry, this is just a trial run.” Stiles gestured for them to follow and he advanced through the charred undergrowth. “I want to allow you to examine the powers in more detail, Theo, if we can figure out how they work maybe I can bolster them with the appropriate Elemental chimeras in support. That’s not to mention how excited Greenberg was when I explained my new, god-like abilities!”

“They’re not-” Theo cut himself off as Connor glanced at him. The Guardian Prime’s expression was neutral, but the First Chimera knew that look and nodded. “Of course, Emperor, only a fool would deny that you are a god.” Connor smiled happily at him and Theo felt his stomach clench in response.

 _Anything for a bit of approval, hmm?_ Stiles smirked, gesturing regally. “Let’s begin, I can see a new group of test subjects coming our way now. Connor, ensure your friends are ready.”

“As You command, Emperor.”

“Theo, stay back now.” Stiles glanced at him, the grin still playing about his lips. “I wouldn’t want all that ass-kissing to go to waste.”

“Shut up.” Theo muttered, Connor having left to gather the Ancient chimeras. “It’s-”

“Incoming!” The shout was from a fire chimera up ahead of them, a sheet of flames erupting in front of her to shield them from a jet of goop that lanced through the air. 

“It’s time.” The Chimera Emperor whispered, his eyes glowing purple, head bowed as he sorted through the range of capabilities and powers around him until he felt the tendrils of the Overmind’s special abilities wrap themselves around his fingers. Stiles grinned and stepped forward into the range of the Corrupted flinging goop at them, raising his arms as the Ancient chimera gathered around him, their animal faces looking more savage than ever before, eyes burning with violet reflections of his own. 

The Corrupted shambled closer, goo-covered figures that could have been human or chimera, Stiles wasn’t sure. _Not that it makes a difference, they’re about to die the same way!_ “Rawrr!” He snarled and clapped his hands together; bands of barely visible energy curving outwards from him towards the Corrupted. Stiles grinned as they were flung back into trees and bushes, the jungle in front of him shredding and tearing apart until there was nothing but bare rock in place of the lush forest. 

Three of the goop-covered monsters resisted his attack for a moment until Stiles concentrated and slowly clenched his fist, the gravity waves condensing around the indistinct figures until they finally exploded into long strands of gooey flesh, their blood splattering against the rock, bones shattering into shrapnel. Stiles released his hold on the Grav-Wave and watched with a dark grin as the monsters collapsed into puddles of black slime. He nodded at the fire chimeras behind him and they bathed the area in flame. “Good.”

“That was impressive.” Theo nodded, looking around at the unnatural clearing. “Not sure if deforesting the Amazon is something we should get into the habit of doing though.”

“It’s a weapons test.” Stiles shrugged and glanced at the Ancient chimeras, seeing their human faces flicker into view for a moment before the animal ones returned. “I need to try out the compression attack next, we need to see if my plan for destroying the Harvester will even work.”

“Agreed.” Connor nodded and looked to his right sharply, shoving Theo out of the way as a group of large, goo-covered birds swooped down towards them, multiple clawed limbs raking through the air. “Get down, Emperor!” The Guardian Prime pushed his master towards the safety of the Ancient chimeras and jumped upwards to grab one of flailing limbs, the birds pulling him into the air.

“Connor!” Stiles made to zap them, electricity dancing up his fingers, when Theo grabbed his arm.

“Are you crazy? You’ll kill him, just wait!”

“They’re bringing him above the treeline, we won’t be able to see him!” Stiles snarled, pulling his arm from Theo’s grasp. But he hesitated a moment too long, the Guardian Prime vanishing from view. “Gah!” The Emperor gashed his teeth and buried the charged lightning bolt into a nearby tree, watching the trunk shatter.

Connor hung on grimly as he used his claws to scythe through the bird’s rib cage and slash at the vulnerable organs inside, the flock surrounding him, hardened beaks smashing into his armor, cutting at his face and exposed neck. “Agh!” He released the dying Corrupted and spun in the air, his claws a blur, cutting through the creatures’ necks and bodies, before dropping like a stone back into the jungle below him. _Oh, this is gonna suck…_

The Guardian Prime crashed through tree branches and bounced off trunks until he finally smashed into the ground near a stream, the sound of his leg breaking making him cry out. “Ah! Fuck.”

“Connor?”

“Over here, Theo.” He pulled himself out of the crater he had left in the ground and accepted the First Chimera’s offered arm to steady himself on. “Thanks.”

“Are you ok?” Theo looked at his battered, scratched armor and down at his leg, the metal plates cracked, blood pouring from the left one. “That looks serious.”

“Nothing I haven’t handled before.” Connor shrugged and limped away with him, back towards the Emperor and the rest of the battlegroup. “I’ll heal in a few minutes.”

“I always forget that the healing the Guardians have make you pretty much impossible to kill.” Theo laughed even as Connor did not, the other chimera waving him off as two of the Emperor’s other bodyguards took over from Theo, supporting their leader.

“Well, you haven’t succeeded yet, but we can be killed, just like everyone else.” Connor muttered, seeing Theo’s expression flicker into rage. He nodded as the Guardians let him sit down next to a tree. “Status report?”

“The Emperor and the Ancient chimeras have continued ahead, Guardian Prime.”

“Good, send the First Chimera to join Him and the rest of the squads to provide backup.” Connor grunted, feeling his bone reset itself and the torn skin knit back together. “One of you remain here, the other should escort the First Chimera to the Emperor.”

“Yes, Guardian Prime!” 

 

Stiles smirked at the crumpled figure of the Corrupted in front of him, the goop sliding off its face to reveal it was a man, a local from his appearance. “Not a chimera, are you?” The man didn’t reply, and Stiles shrugged, holding him in place with the Lift ability, his Ancient chimeras standing in a pentagon around him, their power feeding his own. “We’ll have to wait for Connor to get here, these Overmind powers are substantial, but I already feel like my head is splitting in half just holding onto them. I don’t think I can open the earth too.” He looked up when Theo emerged from the dense jungle behind him, flanked by another of his Guardians. “Where’s Connor?”

“He’s on his way.” Theo replied sourly.

“The rescue didn’t go as planned?”

“He didn’t need to be rescued, in fact, I think he thought I was going to attack him or something.”

“Right, because you’d _never_ try and take him out when he’s in a vulnerable position.” Stiles smirked and nodded behind Theo. “Thankfully, my Guardian Prime recovers fast. There you are, Connor.”

“Apologies, Emperor.” He bowed deeply, gesturing at his leg. “It was broken in two places, but it’ll heal properly in a few hours. I have sufficient strength to test Your theory, master.”

“Our theory, Connor.” Stiles smiled benevolently, ignoring Theo’s eye-roll. “When you’re ready.”

“Begin, master.” Connor stood next to him and Stiles reached out to touch his cheek, the wounds from his fight with the birds had gone, leaving his face streaked with blood. “Thank You, Emperor, but I am not in pain.”

“As you wish.” He nodded and stopped blocking the pain receptors in Connor’s body. “Then let’s get started.” Stiles grinned when the Guardian Prime’s eyes pulsed purple and the ground next to the Corrupted cracked and shattered, a deep shaft punched into the earth. “Into the depths with you!” The Emperor cried, flicking his wrists and sending the man tumbling towards the pit. 

“Ahhh!” The Corrupted screamed suddenly as the goop was torn off his body, deep wounds forming along his chest and arms as the Harvester’s presence was expunged. He was flung backwards, falling to the ground with one last gasp, the chimeras caring only about the seething ball of black liquid held in the air.

“Fascinating,” Theo whispered, lips parted. “So, it can be separated from the host.”

“Except the host is dead.” Connor replied, “Perhaps-”

“Leave the theorizing for later.” Stiles growled, his concentration slipping as he felt the Ancient chimeras’ energy beginning to fade. “I don’t know how much longer I can hold it back.”

“Toss it into the shaft!”

Stiles nodded instead of replying, switching abilities from Lift to Compression, slowly bring his hands together. _This is odd, it’s like trying to force two magnets together._ He grunted as he finally managed to clasp his fingers around his knuckles and the ball of goop was forced into a tighter shape, going from the size of a softball into that of a golf ball. With a wordless yell, the Emperor pushed his hands down and the goo flew into the hole Connor had created. He nodded at the Guardian Prime, watching him smash his hand into the ground, the hole collapsing in on itself. 

“Did it work?” Theo glanced between the two of them. “Well?”

“It worked.” Stiles gave a tight grin as he released the powers of the Overmind, his Ancient chimeras sighing and sitting on the ground, exhausted. “But that one little ball took almost everything I had. We’re going to need something else if we want to force the Harvester itself into its prison again, especially if it keeps growing bigger with all that it consumes.”

“That’s why we have other squads containing the spread of its influence.” Connor said, wiping a sheen of sweat from his brow. “Perhaps it would be prudent to return to _Glória do Imperador_ and rest up.”

“Agreed.” Theo nodded and gestured for the squad to help Stiles and the Ancient chimeras back to their Humvees, moving closer to Connor instead. _Looking as good as ever, especially with all that glorious splatter!_ He moistened his lips and gazed hungrily at the smears of blood on the Guardian Prime’s face, eyes drinking in the still-bright crimson contrasting beautifully against his tanned skin, his hand reaching out to touch the other chimera, stopping only when his eyes met Connor’s. “Um…I, are you alright?”

“I’m healed, it’s just the aftermath. I’ll wash when I return to the city.”

“Right, of course you will.” Theo didn’t hide the disappointment from his voice, letting the armored chimera go on ahead of him. He glanced at the place where they had trapped the ball of goop, idly wondering how long the Harvester could be contained for. Theo shook his head and turned around, hurrying after Connor once he made a quick adjustment inside his combat trousers.

 

Liam held up his fist to signal a stop and they crouched down behind him, Philip moving forward to scan the area in front of them. “What is it?”

“Movement.” The werewolf chimera nodded in the direction of some bushes. “Over there, plus I can smell something; it’s odd, not like the Corrupted and their odourless forms, this smells like death.”

“Charming,” The Manticore replied dryly. “What do you want to do?”

“Advance.” Liam gestured for them to spread out and move forward, the squad of chimeras who were once his werewolf pack flowing around him in a pincer formation, the twins holding back next to him. “Josh, can you get some air? See if you can find out what we’re facing?”

“Could be difficult.” The chimera’s transparent wings unfolded and flapped a few times. “There’s a lot of foliage around here. I’ll see what recon I can get.”

“What do you want me to do?”

“Nothing for the moment, Jason.” Liam shook his head slightly, eyes constantly moving as he tried to figure out what had made the noise. “The Harvester’s goop was spotted in this area, right?”

“Yeah,” Philip nodded. “One of the outlying villages was taken over last night, the Emperor is searching north of here, and He’s deployed several other groups around the Archon’s city to try and push back the Harvester.”

“You don’t think it’s a good idea?” Liam frowned, hearing the careful tone of his boyfriend.

“The Emperor cannot be wrong.”

“And that’s not an answer.” Liam muttered, ignoring the way Jason’s eyes flicked towards him. “But I get it, we don’t know enough about this threat, maybe we should be trying to destroy it instead of containing it. This is clearly a monster that is too dangerous to let live.”

“That’s right.” The Manticore looked up as Josh floated back down beside them. “Well?”

“No sign of the village, just a flattened piece of earth that’s been stripped bare.” Josh held out his hand, a pile of grey dust in his fist. “This was all that was left. The Harvester has been there, right?”

“Looks that way.” Philip grimaced as he poked the dust. “It’s like something from the moon.”

“Ok, anything else? Any enemies?” Liam glanced back at the younger chimera, seeing him shake his head. “Fuck, alright. We advance.” He stood up and led them forward, past the bushes where the movement had been previously heard and out onto the stripped patch of earth. The chimeras following him stopped, their surprised mutters making Liam’s claws itch. “I don’t like this. Keep your heads in the game, guys.”

“Feels like a trap, right?” Philip agreed, pointing at the lush forest around them. “The Harvester devours everything in its path; why just take a football field sized square and not anything else around it? Or hell, why not carve a route back to its city like it did trying to get here?”

“Dunno.” Liam caught the squad’s attention and flicked his claws out. “Look alive, everyone! There could be something-” A strangled scream cut him off and the chimera spun around to see one of his former pack being ripped in half by a taller version of the regular Corrupted. Long claws hung from thick arms, blood dripping onto the grey dust underfoot, its form different to the others they had encountered; the goop covering it was raised into tiny peaks, hardened portions of unnatural armor created over the head and neck. The monster threw the halves of the chimera to one side and charged towards them. “Fuck! Kill it!”

“Rawrr!” A chimera made to intercept, eyes flashing purple, but his claws scraped off the extra armor and the creature flicked its claws up, slicing through the chimera’s torso with ease. “Ah!”

“Stay back, ranged attacks only!”

“My turn!” Jason snarled, crossing his hands in front of his body, ice crystals forming on the air and creating a barrier between them and the monster. Josh had taken to the air again, calling down the monster’s position to them.

“That’s gonna be hard to kill,” Philip said to Liam. “We should have brought more Elemental chimeras!”

“We got this,” Jason responded before the older chimera could. “Trust me.”

“Uh, I’m not so sure.” Liam shook his head. “Maybe we can-”

“I know I screwed up before, but I’m the most powerful Elemental chimera you have right now, and I have a plan.” He insisted, looking up at his brother before his eyes found Liam again. “Give me a chance.”

“Ok, tell me.”

“I freeze, you punch.” Jason smirked at him. “Simple.”

“It’s moving right.” Josh called out. “They’re not particularly smart, but those claws could do some serious damage!”

“I know.” Jason closed his eyes for a moment, concentrating on the heaviness of the air, drawing the moisture it contained towards him, feeling it kiss his skin for a moment before the Elemental chimera turned it to ice and his body was encased in thick chucks of ice armor. “Alright!” Liam and Philip were staring at him. “I need to touch the monster to freeze him and then you can get close enough to shatter him, ok?”

“Do it.” The Manticore nodded for Liam to go, and pushed Jason ahead of them, the younger chimera rushing forward to shoulder-charge the Corrupted.

“Yeah!” Jason whopped and slammed his ice-covered hands onto the monster’s shoulders, feeling frost sliding down his arms to spread across the creature. He grunted as it tried to throw him off, the long claws chipping away at his ice armor until Jason was able to root the Corrupted in place, freezing it solid as he glared at its goo-covered face. “Now, Liam!”

“Right.” The older chimera dashed around the protective ice wall and curled his hand into a ball, drawing his arm back to deliver a punch that echoed around the clearing. “Nice!” He cried out as the monster’s ice-covered form shattered and chips of it went flying, pinging off the frozen barrier. “Good job!”

“Yeah!” Jason grinned, getting an unexpected high-five from the werewolf chimera. “I mean, it’ll melt soon in this heat, but the monster is dead, even if the ooze will just slither back to its master.”

“The Emperor is handling that.” Philip said as he and Josh joined them by the defeated monster. “But we should report back; they’ll want to know that we’ve encountered a new type of Corrupted.”

“Good,” Liam smiled at them. “I don’t like the jungle anyway. And, Jason?”

“Yeah?”

“Great idea, thanks.”

“Ok.” The younger chimera smirked at his brother and followed the rest of the squad back to the waiting transport trucks. 

 

The Emperor grinned suddenly as they stepped out of the Humvee, the sight of the largest cargo plane in the world on the runway dominated the view of the airport. He looked at Connor excitedly. “It’s finally here!”

“The Guardian of the Ancient World has arrived.” Connor nodded, joining his master as they walked around the terminal building to find Nick standing next to Jackson. The Archon was staring at the massive chimera and stooping slightly as though trying to make himself look smaller. “It will smell your fear regardless of how tiny you appear to it, Archon.”

“I…well, look at it!” Jackson gestured helplessly at the coiled flanks of the ancient chimera, only a third of it was in an upright position, still managing to loom over the Air Traffic Control tower next to it. “Don’t tell me you’re not even a bit afraid of that thing?!”

“It is magnificent!” Connor smiled as he stared up at the long snout, slit-like nostrils sucking in the air in loud gasps, the mouth slightly ajar, rows of teeth glinting in the late afternoon sun. “A true weapon to deliver the Emperor’s fury!”

“It’ll be interesting to try and figure out how they made one so big, huh?” Theo stood next to him, and Connor nodded silently. “Especially as it could be the key to creating our spaceships. Isn’t that what you think, Guardian Prime?”

“Exactly.” Connor spared him a glance, finding Theo’s eyes not on the Guardian of the Ancient World, but fixed on his face again. He quickly looked away, finding what he was seeking on the apron where the cargo plane was parked. “If you will excuse me, First Chimera, we will discuss our plans for the chimera expansion into space another time.”

“Sure, I should probably go see if the Emperor needs anything.” Theo murmured, his eyes lingering on the Guardian Prime’s face for a moment longer. 

“Good.” Connor replied curtly and swept off towards the plane’s lowered ramp, nodding politely at Philip as he and Liam pulled up nearby, their squad spilling out onto the tarmac to gaze in awe at the immense chimera, so unlike the rest of them. The Guardian Prime stopped in front of a familiar figure, the spiked black hair bobbing to and fro as he tried to get something out of a box. 

“C’mon, c’mon! I swear they pack these things like…fuck!”

“Mmh.” Connor smirked and waited for Marric to pull out the stone tablet before leaning forward and grabbing the end. “Here, let me.”

“Oh! Connor!” Marric grinned at him, his bright eyes lighting up. “Uh, I mean, Guardian Prime.”

“We’re more or less alone, Connor is fine.” He helped the other chimera carry the slab onto a nearby flatbed truck. “How was your flight?”

“Rough, long, kinda terrifying.” Marric shrugged, cocking a brow. “You know how demanding those ancient, hundreds of feet long, devouring chimeras can be when you take them from the only home they’ve ever known and fly them half-way across the world, right?”

“Sounds fun.” Connor smiled and looked around carefully before pulling Marric into a hug. “I’ve missed you.”

“Likewise.” He stepped back, frowning. “Are you ok? You don’t normally show this much affection, or any really, unless we’re alone.”

“It’s been a long few weeks.”

“Yeah, I know, I would’ve come back, but…”

“The research you’re doing is too important.” Connor nodded, his expression returning to neutral, though his hands remained on Marric’s shoulders, thumbs resting against his neck. “Which is why I’ve organised for you to immediately be transferred back to the safety and security of the Occulus. I can’t have my…best friend being in danger, now, can I?”

“It depends.” The fire chimera smirked, “What’s the danger?”

“Sudden and confusing jealousy.” Connor turned and looked back towards the Guardian of the Ancient World, finding Theo glaring at them. Marric followed his gaze and his lips parted slightly.

“Really? Theo?” Marric turned back to Connor, confusion making his brows furrow. “What the hell happened while I was gone?”

 

“This is _exactly_ what we need!” Stiles exclaimed, walking back and forth in front of the huge chimera as Theo huffed irritably to himself. “This is the sort of symbol that will instil fear into the hearts of our enemies and beat back the waves of the Corrupted.”

“I thought it was more into vanishing and silently killing our enemies?”

“Whatever,” He shrugged, moving around the Ancient chimera and nodding approvingly at Nick. “I’m putting you in charge of this creature; look after its needs, which are few, and ensure that it is ready to be deployed when needed.”

“As You command, Emperor.” The Legendary chimera bowed and nudged Jackson, both of them hurrying over to the creature as Stiles and Theo moved back to the Humvee to take them up to the Archon’s Palace.

“That’s it? You’re not even going to unleash it now?”

“No,” Stiles shook his head. “Not yet, we first need to assemble the pieces, get them in place on the board before we even think about attacking with them.”

“So, you mean to take the Harvester’s city?” Theo nodded slowly to himself. “That will require a lot of preparation; a lot of chimeras, supplies, resources. And what of the monster itself?”

“We’ve demonstrated that the Ancient chimeras’ Compression ability allows for the Harvester’s ooze to be tossed into the earth,” Stiles replied as they passed through the city. “Now all we need to do is create the situation where it can be replicated on a larger scale. We need to push the monster back into its box, although I think that using the Maw to help us find somewhere secure is the key.”

“That could be a mistake.” The First Chimera touched Stiles’ arm. “I know you think you can trust that thing, but it could be as big a problem as the Harvester is being right now. There has to be another way.”

“Then find it for me.” Stiles nodded. “I’ll consider all options before we do anything to destroy the Harvester, and I’d feel better too if we had something from the Dread Doctors to ensure that it can never escape whatever prison we put it into.”

“I’m not sure they ever dealt with anything like this.” Theo shrugged, climbing out of the vehicle as it stopped in front of the Archon’s Palace. “I’ll take a look through their notes and journals and see.”

“Good, I need to check in on my Ancient chimeras anyway,” Stiles gestured in the opposite direction. “I’ll see you for dinner.”

“Where’s Connor? I mean, doesn’t he normally escort you?” Theo added quickly, seeing his boyfriend’s lips twitch.

“He’s escorting Marric to the connecting flight.” The Emperor shrugged as Theo’s expression grew hard. “Connor hasn’t made any moves on the guy yet, Theo, as far as I’m aware, they’re just good friends. Plus, Marric is one of my most intelligent chimeras, nothing can happen to him, understood?”

“Of course.” Theo wetted his lips and leaned casually against the Humvee. “Is Marric sticking around?”

“No, he’s returning to the heart of the Empire to continue his research. I need him close by in case something new pops up, and he is the foremost expert on the Ancient chimeras and the city of the Overmind.” Stiles gestured vaguely at him. “He and Connor get along, but if there’s anything more between them, you’d have to ask the Guardian Prime.”

“You don’t know?”

“In case you haven’t noticed, he’s a closed book when it comes to sharing those kinds of emotions.”

“I’ve noticed.” He sighed, nodding when Stiles turned to leave. “I’ll get started on that research now.”

“Good.”

 

“My own private Gulfstream, huh?” Marric grinned at him as they exited the terminal onto a smaller runway. “Nice!”

“It’ll bring you back to the Fount of Glory, where an Osprey will fly you the rest of the way.” Connor explained, gesturing behind him. “Send word for whatever pieces you need from here and we’ll send them up to you.”

“You really think the First Chimera would try something?”

“I’m not sure, which is what worries me.” The Guardian Prime bit his bottom lip and sighed, “The Emperor Himself approved your flight log, so that likely means He has concerns of His own. Theo has been acting very different lately, ever since we took out a group of heretics outside the capital. Well, just before that, really.”

“You should be careful too,” Marric looked at him. “He’s never liked you, never understood your purpose.”

“I know, but it feels as though he’s being genuine.” Connor stopped in front of the small plane and turned to face his friend. “The Emperor even spoke to me about it yesterday, said that Theo has _feelings_ for me.”

“Of resentment and hatred?”

“Something else, it seems.”

“Interesting.” Marric was watching him carefully as he asked another question. “I thought that perhaps you and Brett were going to become something special?”

“My duty to the Emperor comes before all else.” Connor replied stiffly. “It’s why there was never anything to come out of our…”

“I know.” Marric sighed, touching the Guardian Prime’s gauntlets. “I know that the Overmind project is finished in the eyes of the Emperor and most of His court, but I hope you’ll still come and visit me like you used to, right?”

“Of course,” Connor closed his hand gently, pulling the other chimera’s fingers into his grip. “And when this is all over, when the threats are finally diminished, we’ll have that second drink, hmm?”

“Sounds good to me.” He smiled and nodded at the pilot who appeared on the steps of the Gulfstream. “Looks like it’s my turn to go.”

“Before you do, any insight on the Ancient chimeras and their gravity powers?”

“You were right that it’s not really gravity manipulation.” Marric pulled out a tablet from his bag and tapped the screen. “I’ll send a copy to you once I’m in the air, but the short version is that the new ruins that are being uncovered talk about a failed experiment…not a chimera, not an ordinary monster. See, these pictograms here translate into ‘The One Who Gathers.’” 

“The Harvester.” Connor whispered after a moment. “Younger than we expected. So, it’s tied to the Overmind?”

“I still have to translate the rest of the wall that this was found on, but it looks like it was maybe designed to counter the Overmind? Maybe an accident or mistake, I don’t know.”

“Yeah.” The Guardian Prime glared at the tarmac, “We’re fumbling in the dark here, and I’m not sure even the Emperor knows what He wants to do. He’s pausing, hesitating, almost second guessing Himself.”

“Why?” Marric frowned, handing his bag to the pilot and climbing the stairs as the engines began to speed up behind him. 

“Theo.” Connor reached out and gripped Marric’s shoulder. “The First Chimera is distracting Him from giving His full attention to the threat at hand. But don’t worry about that, I’ll get the Empire back on course; there’s so much still to do to achieve our vision.”

“Understood, thanks, Connor.” The fire chimera grinned at him, “And don’t worry about me, I can handle myself if need be.”

“Hopefully that won’t come to pass.” The Guardian Prime stepped back, watching as the steps were drawn up and the plane began to taxi. A knot of tension had formed in his stomach, Connor still chewing on his lip until the sleek, silver craft had lifted off at the bottom of the runway and launched into the air, turning slowly over the city, soon lost in the clouds. He turned away, walking back across the asphalt, his thoughts turning back to the Harvester and the mysteries of its creation, another form of tension sinking into his stomach. 

 

Garrett massaged his wrists as Corey smirked at him. “What?”

“You’re weren’t expecting that move, were you?” The younger chimera looked especially pleased at having just flipped the Löwenmensch on his back. “I’ve been getting one of the Guardians to train with me these past few weeks. Figured I needed to be able to do more than just vanish and reappear in unexpected places.”

“True.” Garrett nodded and stood up straighter. “What other new tricks have you learned?”

“A few, but I can’t give you all my best ones.”

“Haha, probably for the best.” The Löwenmensch gestured for Corey to join him on the patio outside the sheltered training arena on the upper floor of the Archon’s Palace. He nudged into Corey as they sipped freshly squeezed juice. “Thanks for bringing me down here, by the way, but some special thanks for finally getting the security detail to leave me alone.”

“That wasn’t me.” Corey shook his head and unbuttoned his shirt, turning to let cooler air hit his sweat-streaked skin. “The Guardian Prime, I think, Stiles didn’t authorize it, and Theo doesn’t have the pull.”

“Why would he do that?”

“Dunno, maybe Connor decided you’d completed your punishment; it’s hard to know what he thinks about things.” 

“And the Emperor didn’t object?” Garrett frowned. “I thought he alone made these types of decisions.”

“Connor has had a lot of power invested into his position since the end of the war.” Corey explained. “If Stiles didn’t want you released, he would have intervened; but he trusts Connor.”

“Well, remind me to thank him when I see him.” 

“Mmh.”

“Are you going to tell me what’s going on with you?” Garrett moved around so he was standing in front of Corey, the younger chimera stepping back slightly so he still had his face bathed in sunlight. “Other than working on that tan?!”

“There’s something happening between Theo and Stiles that has nothing to do with their world conquest or chimera dominance plans. It’s causing tension among us all.” Corey replied after a moment. “Theo’s interested in Connor, but not because of something like lust or because he’s attractive, but because of what Connor can get him.”

“Which is?” 

“Blood.” He flicked his eyes away from Garrett’s inquisitive ones and shrugged. “There was an incident a while back; the rescuing of the Guardian Prime-”

“I was there, Corey, I remember.”

“Right, well, Theo manipulated the optics of that incident, so he’d be punished by Stiles; a very specific punishment where Connor beat him up on Stiles’ command, and, well,” Corey flushed. “You can imagine what happened next, Theo having his…um.”

“Sure.” Garrett smirked at Corey’s embarrassment. “Go on.”

“And then before we came down here, Connor and Theo went out to kill a bunch of heretics and they both came back covered in blood.” He frowned, “I think Theo wants Connor to be his enabler for that kink and at the same time hold onto me and Stiles as his actual boyfriends.”

“And Connor would do that?”

“Not really,” Corey paused. “I mean, I guess he would act as an enabler if Theo was nearby when he’s putting down heretics or killing enemies of the Empire. But he’ll never touch Theo without Stiles giving him the all-clear, and even then, Connor doesn’t like Theo.”

“I know.” Garrett nodded. “Don’t forget, I was a General, I’m well aware that the Guardian Prime doesn’t trust Theo; it was quite a while ago, but I remember him saying that the First Chimera is an example of the worst chimera in the Empire and warned the officers to emulate him at their peril. He didn’t know I overheard him, he was talking to his zealots at the time, before the Church was formalized.”

“Hmm, well, I don’t know what the deal is with that,” Corey shrugged. “Only, I think they’re trying to give me an out; a way to leave the relationship without losing face.”

“And is that what you want?” The Löwenmensch asked him carefully, eyes dancing over Corey’s flushed skin and bright eyes. “To be…single again?”

“Maybe.” He replied hesitantly. “It was a lot easier in Beacon Hills, everything is so complicated now; the Harvester, the Empire, it just, I think they think that I’m staying with them for the wrong reasons. Which is fair, I guess; I don’t want anything to happen to them because I walk away, you know?”

“That hardly seems fair to you, Corey.”

“I know, but…” He trailed off, tilting his head as he looked past Garrett. “What are you doing out here, Growler?!” Corey wandered over to the young dog and frowned at him, stroking the top of his head. “That’s hot! You’re going to boil your brains, you silly dog!”

“Haha,” Garrett laughed as Corey picked Growler up and brought him into the training area. “Well, I suppose you have a point; this isn’t a time for sunbathing. Let’s get back to training, and you can show me some of those new moves you have!”

“Ok.” Corey nodded and put Growler onto the ground, the dog walking towards his water bowl. The chimera grinned at Garrett and pulled off his unbuttoned shirt completely and tossed it in a corner, seeing the Löwenmensch’s eyes lock onto his chest. “Hah.”

“Is this part of your new tactics?” Garrett returned his eager grin. “Disarm and distract me with your sexy body?”

“Maybe.” Corey vanished and reappeared a second later behind him, thrusting outward with the flat of his palm to catch Garrett unawares, the Löwenmensch stumbling forward. The younger chimera jumped on top of him and wrestled him to the ground as Garrett twisted around quickly, landing hard on his back, holding Corey’s body to him. “Ugh, hi.”

“Hey.” Garrett whispered, feeling Corey’s dick press through the gym shorts he was wearing. The Löwenmensch slid his hand further down the younger chimera’s back to just shy of his waistband, lingering there until Corey nodded and pulled himself forward across Garrett’s chest, pressing their lips together. “Mmh.”

Corey pulled back after a moment and looked at him, his hands gripping Garrett’s arms, nodding slowly. “I guess I know what my decision about staying with Stiles and Theo is.”

“I guess so.” Garrett grinned at him and deftly flipped Corey onto his back, leaning in for another kiss.

 

Stiles looked up from where he was making slow progress with the Ancient chimeras as Theo entered the room. “Ah, good, take a break, guys.” He stood and gestured for his boyfriend to accompany him to the other side of the long table that divided the space. “You found something?”

“No, at least nothing from the online archives.” The First Chimera shook his head. “I’ll need to check with the physical records I have in Victory City.”

“That’s fine, we need to return to the capital soon anyway.” Stiles explained. “Regardless of what you might find, the Maw will be our ally in this fight and I want to see what other nuggets of information the entity might possess.”

“Stiles, that is too risky.”

“It was correct about the Elemental chimeras having the edge.” He flashed a grin at Theo. “Relax, I know what I’m doing when it comes to the Hellscape. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said of the Ancient chimeras.”

“Problems?” Theo glanced over to where the five animal-headed chimeras sat in a pentagon, seeming to stare silently at each other. “Maybe they communicate with their minds?”

“I don’t know, they shut right up whenever Connor isn’t around, and what they do say doesn’t make much sense.” Stiles growled, pushing a hand through his hair. 

“Where is the Guardian Prime anyway?”

“I let him go shower; he was pretty dirty and bloody from that fight earlier.”

“Right.” Theo went silent and Stiles smirked.

“You know that I’ve enhanced senses, right?” The Emperor snorted when Theo glared at him. “I can _smell_ you, Theo.”

“Did you ask that guy, Marric, to return with the Guardian of the Ancient World?”

“I did.” Stiles nodded. “He’s our most valuable expert on the Ancient chimeras and their many secrets; he’ll-”

"You told me that before,” Theo cut across him, drawing angry growls from the Guardians nearby. Ignoring them, he pressed on. “Did you talk to Connor? What did he say?”

“Nothing, he interrupted me with news of the Ancient chimeras’ power and I wasn’t going to turn that down in favor of some circular discussion that I’ve already had with him.”

“But don’t you want it, Stiles?”

“Why are you being so aggressive?” Stiles frowned at him, smelling the frustrated edge to Theo’s scent. “What’s really wrong?”

“I feel like I’m fumbling in the dark here, I feel like I don’t really know what’s going on.” Theo glared at the table, shaking his head. “It’s worse than before; at least back then all I knew was that you were keeping secrets from us, now, I feel like I can see half of the plan and the other half is buried in fog and all I’m getting are fragments: the Harvester, the Ancient chimeras, the Maw. What the hell is going on, Stiles?!”

“Calm down, First Chimera.” The throaty rumble came from the doorway, Connor entering the room slowly, his armor freshly repaired and polished, cloak of rich blue trailing out behind him, hair still wet, though styled at the front in the way that Stiles approved of. He held out a hand and advanced towards them. “Many plans are in motion right now, and I’m sure the Emperor will enlighten us in due time.”

“That’s not good enough.”

“Well, maybe I can soothe at least one of your frustrations.” The Guardian Prime paused as his nostrils flared and he shook his head at Theo, gesturing instead at the Ancient chimeras. “Come, sit with us, and you will both learn their secrets.”

“That sounds good.” Stiles touched Theo’s hand and joined Connor among the Ancient chimeras, the First Chimera sitting down on Connor’s other side after a moment. “They haven’t told me much at all.”

“They rarely speak.” Connor explained, looking around at the group. “And there is a way to understand what they do say. Now, what do You want to know, master?”

“Ask them about these gravity attacks, how are they formed? Are they Elemental?” Stiles waited as the Guardian Prime repeated his questions in Ancient Egyptian, using a tablet to illustrate his meaning. After a moment of silence, the hawk-headed chimera nodded at him and replied, the words were strange enough to listen to from Connor’s mouth, but hearing them from the bird’s beak was utterly bizarre. “What’s he saying?”

“They are Elemental powers of a kind, Emperor.” Connor nodded as he translated. “Wind and fire, earth and fury, I think; that last word I haven’t heard before. I’ll ask him to illustrate it…ah, yes, it was fury. Hmm.”

“What?”

“I’m not sure, they just keep repeating the same thing.” Connor shrugged. “Honestly, this is a lot farther than I’ve gotten with them at times. Though it seems that wind is the primary Elemental component.”

“Right,” Theo nodded, thinking about the knowledge he’d gained from the Doctors. “Well, it makes sense that the Lift ability uses wind or air to make it work. Maybe some sort of hybrid ability explains the Grav-Wave attack since that seems to be an explosive-based ability. Having witnessed the compression-based ability this morning, it appeared to share similar properties to the way you manipulate earth using your terrakinetic powers.”

“Just without the earth itself.” Stiles smiled. “It’s almost like they’ve hollowed out some of the Elemental powers and combined them together. Do you think you can replicate it, Theo?”

“And create truly hybrid chimeras?” He frowned. “Maybe, I’d need to return to the lab, consult with Dr Kadar, I mean, it can wait until after the Harvester is dealt with, right?”

“Well, we’ll have some time when we’re back in the capital tomorrow.” The Emperor stood up, gesturing for the other two to follow him out of the room. “We’ll be returning for a number of reasons; the Hellscape of course, but I also got word this afternoon that Scott has almost completed the pacification efforts. Only one group of rebel werewolves remain at large, likely controlled by or allied with Gerard Argent.”

“So, just the Big Bad left for him to deal with.” Theo smirked as they walked into the sunshine. “That distraction has proven successful; how many new chimeras have we bagged from this little venture?”

“Fewer than anticipated.” Stiles replied, frowning. “It appears that most of the werewolves took death over joining the Empire.”

“Scott did-”

“Oh no,” The Emperor shook his head quickly and laughed mockingly. “Scott’s code is absolute! He couldn’t go around killing people, even those who wished him harm. That’s why I included some cold-blooded killers on his squad, Scott probably doesn’t like it, but if it means _he_ doesn’t have to dirty his own claws, well, he can over-look it.”

“Hmm.” Connor grunted, and Stiles arched a brow at him. “I am sorry, Emperor, but I think You gave him too much room to manoeuvre; there has not been sufficient oversight of his actions.”

“Perhaps.” The Emperor shrugged, casting his gaze out across the city. “We’ll see soon enough, and besides, I already have a place set aside for Scott in The Retreat.”

“But I was hoping to have him in Werewolf World!” Theo scowled. “He’d be the main attraction!”

“Chimeras aren’t meant to be _attractions,_ Theo.” Stiles rebuked him gently, “I’ll have some of our prisoners made available to you when the time comes, pretty sure they’ll jump at the chance to be in the fresh air again.”

“We have an enemy to destroy first.” Connor said, looking at them both. “Perhaps it would be best to focus on the threat in front of us, Emperor?”

“Agreed.” Stiles turned away from the city. “Make whatever preparations you need to, we leave in six hours.”

“As You command, Emperor.” 

 

“Do you think I’m crazy?” Liam asked as he and Philip sat on the couch in their apartment in the Imperial Palace. “I mean, it was an email message, so, it’s not like there’s a tone to it other than what I inflected.”

“If you think it’s a cause for concern, then we should investigate.” Philip replied carefully. “The Emperor wouldn’t have given him such an important mission if He thought Scott was incapable.”

“Capability isn’t the issue, loyalty is.” Liam muttered. “Ah, it’s easy for you, for anyone converted to being a chimera after Beacon Hills. You were invaded, captured, or volunteered once you saw the powers you could wield. There’s not many left from the first hundred to be made; most of the Guardians have been here since the beginning, and a handful of others; most of them becoming Archons.”

“What’s your point?”

“That it’s easy for you to be loyal; the Emperor gave you everything and that’s all you know him as.” He sighed. “Scott knows him as something different, same as me, except I’ve lived through the wars and the sieges and the bloodshed. He hasn’t, so he thinks the Emperor is still the guy who was his best friend before Theo Raeken rolled into town. And this message, if it means what I’m afraid it means, Scott is going to try and get through to that pre-Theo guy.”

“How?” Philip asked quickly, re-reading the email when Liam showed it to him. “I don’t see anything here that indicates an attack or threat; some pinning for the old days, sure, but like you said, he knew the Emperor before the Empire. It’s probably nothing to be worried about.”

“Perhaps, I want to go see the labs, talk to the scientists, maybe hit up Corey in Chimera Intelligence; if there’s anything going on, those spooks would know about it.” Liam stood up and waited for his boyfriend to join him. “C’mon!”

“Fine, but what exactly do you want to do if something is going on?” The Manticore followed Liam towards the elevators, lowering his voice as a Guardian marched past. “If Scott is planning something against the Emperor then we have a duty to report it, _both_ of us, Liam.”

“I know, we’ll just see where this goes ok?” The chimera shrugged. “Maybe you’re right, maybe it’s nothing. But if it is something, if Scott has come up with a Mason-esque plan, then it’s better that we foil it first and worry about the consequences later. If he actually does something stupid like try and separate the Emperor from his Guardians, they’ll probably just kill him!”

“Ok, calm down.” Philip pulled him into the elevator, which was empty, and glared into Liam’s panicked eyes. “First off, we don’t know anything yet, and second, after everything the Emperor put into getting Scott back, do you really think He’d kill him for that? Scott would have to do something way worse.”

“Right, right, you’re right.” Liam muttered, pushing the button that would take them into the labs. “We’ll just find out what Scott’s been up to, the packs he’s brought in, and it’ll be fine, like you said.”

“Right.” Philip released him but held his hand until the elevator stopped and they stepped out into the pristine whiteness of the chimera conversion labs, a vast warren of underground tunnels and operation rooms hidden beneath the bulk of the Imperial Palace and its grounds. “We should be able to find something to prove that you just misread that email, Liam. This way.”

 

“They’re over here, I think.” Scott whispered, nodding for the chimeras around him to split up and surround the last werewolf pack that Chimera Intelligence could identify in what was once North America. Everywhere he had gone, Scott picked up traces of Gerard Argent, part of him was hoping that the hunter would be here, so they could settle it once and for all, but the larger part of him desperately wished it was just another dead end. There was already so much blood on his hands from the killing the chimera squad with him undertook every time they raided a werewolf pack. But it had gotten better, or perhaps easier, and Scott no longer felt as guilty as he once did when confronting the survivors. “After all, they always attack us first.” He muttered, drawing curious looks from the werebears. “Let’s go.”

The final werewolf pack were holed up in an abandoned apartment block in the shelled ruins of Salt Lake City, closer than Scott expected for them to be; Stiles’ capital wasn’t that far away. But he quickly dismissed the thoughts and emerged into the moonlight that poked down from broken windows high above them, the dirty, dishevelled werewolves turning quickly, eyes glowing blue, fangs emerging. Scott frowned, not seeing a yellow or red-eyed werewolf among them, his nostrils flaring as his picked up the familiar scent. “Argent.”

“Here I am, Scott. End of the line.” He walked out and spread his hands, the grip of a gun visible in his waistband. “No more running for me, or for the last pack of werewolves in the United States.”

“My name is Scott McCall,” The werewolf chimera called out, ignoring the hunter. “And I bring a message of peace from the Chimera Emperor-”

“Backed up by his claws, huh?” Argent nodded at the purple-eyed chimeras emerging from the rubble. “This is what I warned you about, he’ll offer peace with one hand and threaten you with bared claws in the other!”

“Join us and you will become part of the glorious unity of the Emperor and his Empire.”

“You can’t even say it with some conviction, can you, Scott?”

“Shut up!” Scott glared at him, gesturing for one of the werebears to pick up where he had left off, turning to face Argent. “You’ve led me across the country, but not any longer. This ends here, now.”

“I couldn’t agree more!” Argent shouted, pulling out his handgun and aiming it at Scott as the werewolves leapt up, crashing into the chimeras and attacking them ruthlessly.

“Fuck!” Scott dived behind a concrete pillar, hearing the first shot ping off the column. “This was _not_ the plan!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A slightly shorter chapter this week, I’m afraid. One of my colleagues was killed during the week so that’s put a damper on the creative flow somewhat. There’s a pretty fun chapter planned for next week, and now that we’ve crossed the half way mark, the remaining chapters will be quite action packed!


	8. Lessons Unlearnt

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Strong violence and graphic descriptions of bloody violence in the following chapter.

“Shit!” Scott muttered, pulling his head back after looking out, another bullet ricocheting off the pillar. Gerard had moved away, into another room, away from the main fight. “Hmm, ok, well, I’ll go after him. You ok, here, Sal?” He shouted out to the lead chimera of his squad, the raven-haired snake-chimera smiling darkly at him.

“Yeah, we got these wolves under control!” She swiped viciously at the one nearest her and sent him reeling backwards with a scream, poison mingling with the scratches on his bloodied face. “Take out Argent, he’s all yours!”

“I was afraid you were going to say that.” Scott muttered, getting up and dashing across the open space to the room the old hunter had disappeared into. He spotted a container and made to roll behind it before Argent could start firing at him again. As Scott crossed the threshold, he felt a tension against his shin before it was released suddenly, the trip-wire activating a trap in the wall next to him. “Ah!” He cried out, a barbed spike shooting at him, drilling into his stomach. “Ahh!”

“Tut, tut, tut, Scott, did you lose all your senses when you became a chimera?” Argent’s mocking voice echoed from the gloom around him. “Along with your sense of loyalty? Perspective?!”

“What are you talking about?” Scott grunted, making it to the crate and slumping against it. Unlike when he was the True Alpha, being a werewolf chimera didn’t give him any enhanced healing powers over the other chimeras. He could feel the wound attempting to close around the spike and gritted his teeth, pulling the cruel weapon out of his stomach as the hunter continued to taunt him.

“I’m talking about them out there: the werewolves, your true family, not the chimeras. Every time we’ve done this dance, Scott, more of them die, and you cart the rest back to be turned into mindless gofers.” Argent paused, and Scott could hear the sound of an ammunition clip being loaded into a much bigger gun than before. “They-”

“You don’t know anything!” He shouted back, stuffing a torn sleeve from his jacket into the wound and getting up into a crouched position, surveying the room around him. “They serve the Emperor loyally and they get to live, and I don’t have to kill any of them!”

“But the squad out there do; your hands might be clean, Scott, but you’re just as bad as he is! Stiles and his chimeras have butchered tens of thousands, millions even!” Gerard hesitated, and Scott took the opportunity to run out into the open, rolling away as a hail of gunfire lit up the ground beneath his feet. “And even when his monsters go too far, like killing your own mother, you refuse to do anything!”

“What?” Scott stood up, feeling his blood run cold. “My Mom, that was…Hayden, she-”

“You think she did that on her own?” Argent’s mocking laugh came from in front of him and Scott flicked his claws out, advancing on the source of the sound.

“Stiles would never have ordered her to do that! Besides, she was a werewolf.”

“Look around you, Scott, look at everything the Chimera Emperor has created, the things he has done, is it so hard to imagine that he could remake a chimera from a werewolf?” Argent stepped out from his hiding place, a strange grin on his face. “And then set her to kill your mother, a strategic move that forced you back at a critical moment.”

“You almost sound like you admire him,” Scott growled, adding. “If that were true…but Stiles would never do something like that, especially not then, now he might be different, but that’s only because of Theo.”

“Hmm.” Gerard nodded slowly, before flicking his gun up and unloading the clip onto Scott, forcing the chimera to jump out of the way, grunting as several of the bullets shredded through his torso. “You can duck and dodge all you want, Scott, I’m not leaving until you’re dead or I am!”

“Fuck!” Scott groaned, grabbing a pair of cinderblocks and flinging them at Argent, one going wide to shatter on the wall, while the second one caught the old man in the chest, throwing him backwards onto the ground. “If you want to end this, we’ll end this!” The chimera jumped towards him, feinting his direction in order to dodge the hunter’s predictable hail of gunfire. Scott ripped the weapon from Argent’s hands and threw it away. He punched Gerard in the face, pressing the man’s body down with his knee, and pulled his arm back again, claws pointed down. Scott frowned, having the strangest feeling that Stiles was behind him, watching, but when he glanced over his shoulder, there was no one else there. “Weird.”

“Haha,” Gerard managed a gurgling laugh, blood spilling from the side of his bruised mouth. “So, the great Scott McCall is finally going to kill, hmm? And I get that honor? How _wonderful._ ”

“Shut up! We’re taking you in.” Scott lowered his arm, hearing Gerard’s weak heartbeat. “Maybe you’ll have a heart-attack and save yourself an execution.”

“Still clinging to those old ideas, huh, Scott?” The hunter shook his head and grinned mirthlessly at him. “You think Stiles would spare me? Would spare anyone you vouched for? He didn’t spare Kira.”

“She was too dangerous,” Scott whispered, “Her powers were out of control; she killed people! And Stiles only did that because Theo told him too, he never would have-”

“And your son?” Gerard glared at him with beady eyes, Scott rocking backwards as the words hit him. “Didn’t you know that it was _Stiles_ who gave the kill order for Scott Jr?”

“Scott...Jr?” The chimera echoed in a whisper. “I had a son?”

“Oh, you didn’t even know that? Ask around, ask whatever werewolves survive and they’ll tell you that Satomi’s pack tried to get the boy, only for the Emperor to kill him before he was even able to form sentences.”

“No, no, no! I don’t believe you!” Scott roared, rage blinding him for a moment, his claws flashing out and slicing through Gerard’s fragile skin, blood spurting out and covering Scott’s hands in a wet mess. “No, I didn’t mean-” He gasped, hearing the hunter’s heart-beat spike before falling silent, his hard eyes boring into Scott’s own. “No, this isn’t how it was meant to be…”

 

“Seven of the werewolves have surrendered, Scott.” Sal reported as she and the other chimeras stood in the bombed-out ruin, the bodies of those who resisted surrounding them. “We’ve called the Osprey in and we’ll be back in the Imperial Palace by morning.”

“Good, which one has been a werewolf the longest?” Scott asked coldly, wiping his blood-stained hands on his trousers. He grabbed the offered man by the collar and dragged him away from the others. “Take them to the rendezvous point and we’ll meet you there in a few minutes.”

“Very well,” Sal nodded. “Glory to the Emperor!”

“Glory!” The other chimeras shouted back.

“Glory,” Scott whispered, the words bitter in his mouth, remembering what Argent had said minutes before. He turned to the werewolf and ignored the man’s sneer. “Look, I’m Scott McCall, I was the True Alpha, I’m sure you’ve heard of me?”

“Every werewolf knows you, Scott. You can call me Maxim.”

“Then you must have heard of Kira Yukimura too?” He pressed, “Did she, was there a…”

“The child?” Maxim nodded. “Our pack was on the East Coast when it happened, but news travelled fast; a loyalist pack in Beacon Hills, now the Fount of Glory, sent word that the True Alpha’s son had been found, that if there was ever a leader to rally behind it could’ve been him.”

“What happened?”

“The Emperor happened, of course.” The werewolf shrugged. “Stiles would never suffer another rival to live, especially not the son of a True Alpha, whether he killed the boy himself or had one of his goons do it, I don’t know.”

“Theo must’ve-”

“Theo? No,” Maxim cut across him. “From what I heard, that monster wanted to do experiments, find out as much as he could before they killed the child. Satomi got the body alright, and…”

Scott blocked out the rest of what the werewolf said, a howling noise in his ears. He hadn’t wanted to believe it when Gerard spat the words in his face, but hearing it from Maxim, listening to his heart-beat, the cadence of his voice, Scott knew it was the truth. _His son,_ his and Kira’s, killed by Stiles, the man who used to be his best friend. “Poisoned by Theo.” Scott muttered, clenching his fists hard. “Maxim, get out of here, join the others.” 

“Sure.”

The werewolf left quickly, and Scott pulled out his other phone, dialling the one number on it. “It’s me, you’ve been saying for weeks now that the Empire is evil, corrupt, that it can only be broken by taking out the Emperor himself.”

“I have.”

“Well, it’s time. Get your forces ready, Gabe.” Scott’s face grew hard. “We’ll take them on but leave Stiles for me.”

“Got it.”

“Wait,” He paused, frowning, and entered a small storage area behind the main room, smirking as he saw boxes of ammunition, crates of guns and crossbows. “Looks like Argent was building up quite the stockpile, send the nearest brigade to my location after we leave and collect everything.”

“We’re going to need more than guns and ammo to breach the Imperial Palace.” Gabe replied, and Scott nodded, a large cylinder-shaped object catching his attention.

“It seems that Argent got his hands on a pretty big bomb too.” Scott pulled the sheet off the weapon, the shiny silver nose cone making him frown. “Hmm, I don’t know what would have fired it, it looks kinda old; maybe it was designed to be dropped from the air? Anyway, better bring a truck to take it with us, it might come in handy if we need to make a distraction.” Scott heard Gabe’s agreement and he scratched a nail over the faded yellow and black sticker attached to the bomb’s shell. “Look, I better go, I’ll contact you again once I’ve escorted this group of werewolves to the secure location.”

“Don’t take any risks, Scott.”

“I know, but the chimera squad Stiles sends with me always leave at the helipad, they’re all far too trusting of other chimeras.” He explained as he left the stockpile behind, finishing the call just before he got to the Osprey, hearing it descending ahead of him. “When Stiles isn’t in the capital, no one pays me any extra attention.”

“Well, you better get ready for some,” Gabe muttered darkly, “Our scouts report that Chimera Force One landed a few hours ago and the Emperor is back. Actually, this is the perfect time to strike, we don’t know how long he’ll be staying in Victory City.”

“Agreed.” Scott replied, hanging up. He slipped the phone into his pocket and rounded the corner, nodding at Sal. “All set?”

“Yup, this one even came back to us without an escort.” She pointed at Maxim. “Don’t get soft just because this is the last werewolf pack, Scott.”

“Don’t worry, I know what needs to be done.” Scott looked down at the dried blood on his fingers. “And this time I’ll do it.”

 

“Thissss will not do!” The Harvester proclaimed to the hundreds of Corrupted humans and animals gathered in front of it. “Thissss containment, you all know of the city of the Emperor; we sssshall sssstrike there and sssshow them that we cannot be contained!” The ranks remained motionless and silent as the Harvester turned around and shuffled towards a patch of bare, lifeless earth, the grey dust lifting in the gentle wind that passed through the towering black monoliths that filled the city it had created, more of its corrupting goop spilling down the columns every few minutes to spread outwards and consume the jungle. 

The Harvester stopped moving and extended three of its limbs outwards, each growing and expanding from thin tubes into thick tree trunks, hovering in the air for a moment before plunging down into the ground. The black goop that coated everything the monster touched splashed around the burrowing limbs, deep tunnels forming in front of the Harvester. “Thesssse will carry you to our enemy’ssss lair and you will devour him and hissss city!”

 

“Sure, ok, I get that the powers are draining, and I won’t use them too often,” Stiles nodded at Anubis, the dog-headed chimera returning the movement. “But can we talk instead? Specifically, about…The One Who Gathers?” He hesitated on the title, seeing their expressions shift and change. _I’m getting more used to seeing a surprised hippo, but it’s still weirding me out that they have these incredibly defined and tanned human bodies under the animal heads. Theo hasn’t a clue how they did it, though he doesn’t want to say that, of course._

“We know of him.” Horus replied, looking at Stiles with sharp eyes. “Though, this creature is now neither male or female.”

“But it was a man previously?”

“A child; impatient and impetuous.” Bastet answered, shaking her head slowly. “Spoiled from birth in one of the noble families, becoming a chimera is a great honor, Overmind, as you know.”

“Sure.” Stiles glanced behind him, seeing Connor nod once, the Guardian Prime remaining silent otherwise. The Emperor looked back at the Ancient chimeras as the early morning sunlight filtered through the window of the room located on the upper levels of the ziggurat. “I have been experiencing, hmm, not visions exactly, more like memories. Have any of you encountered The One Who Gathers before?”

“Many times, its creation was a mistake,” Horus shrugged. “Though it hungered, we were able to banish it to the lands in the north.”

“The north?”

“Europe, most likely, Emperor.” Connor explained.

“Yes, that would make sense.” Stiles nodded. “That’s how it was locked into the Nemeton; the druids or darachs must have found a way to trap it in another dimension or a prison; perhaps something like the Hellscape?”

“I thought that was another planet, master?”

“It is, and it’s not important right now.” Stiles smiled at him, turning towards Horus. “Marric says that the god you represent is the guardian of the Pharaoh, is that right?”

“Guardian and guide, yes.” The hawk nodded. “But we serve You, Overmind. What do You need?”

“Answers, a way to stop the Harvester, a way to destroy it forever.” Stiles shrugged. “But let’s start with who made it? My, err, memories suggest that it was one of the original chimera-making priests, is that right?”

“Once a mortician, he became involved in making chimeras because of his knowledge of the human body.” Sobek explained, crocodile head moving so he could look Stiles in the eye. “But his chimeras were never quite right, they always failed, bleeding and suffering until he put them out of their misery. Only once did he succeed; The One Who Gathers. After this success though, he withdrew from court life, some say that he suffered horrifying wounds that necessitated the covering of his face with a mask and hood.”

“This is beginning to sound like someone we know.” Stiles frowned, turning to look at Connor again. “You and Marric were able to track one of the Dread Doctors back to the fourth century, right?”

“That’s right.” Connor had stood up a little straighter. “The Pathologist. Do You think it’s the same person that created the Harvester, master?”

“It could be, not that it really matters; the Beast ripped him apart years ago.” He laughed suddenly. “What a spectacular fall from grace to go from being one of the first to make chimeras to being torn in half by one? And on my command too! Hmm, I wonder did the Overmind know, does it even possess that level of sentience?”

“I do not know, Emperor.” The Guardian Prime shrugged. “But if the Ancient chimeras were not the ones who stopped the Harvester, how are You planning to defeat it?”

“By using the Dread Doctors’ example, of course: bringing together science and the supernatural to contain the Harvester, and force it into a prison of our choosing, one that can never be broken.” Stiles grinned, standing up slowly. “Get Theo and Corey up here, I finally have a plan to defeat our enemy, though we will have to rely on the Maw to achieve it.”

“As You command, Emperor.”

 

“Stiles,” Corey grinned at him, ignoring the way Connor’s expression flickered into a frown. “I feel like we haven’t hung out in ages!”

“Sorry, Corey, it’s not that kind of meeting.” He gestured for them to join them on the sun-soaked balcony off the room the Ancient chimeras were in. “We need to discuss the Harvester and our plans to contain it.”

“Oh, yeah, well, I figured that much.” Corey replied, nodding. “But I need to talk to you and Theo alone too; it’s a, um, private matter.”

“Sure,” Stiles followed his eyes to Connor and gave Corey a gentle push to move him along. “But it will have to wait until tonight, the Guardian Prime and I-” Before he could finish, Stiles was cut off by a screeching siren that howled across the Palace. “What the hell?”

Theo and Corey rushed over to the edge of the balcony, looking towards the front of the ziggurat. “Fuck!” The First Chimera pointed at the wide holes that marred the paving stones of the square, black goop spilling out to seep into the area around the openings. “The Harvester?”

“Has to be.” Connor grunted, moving inside to grab the nearest phone. “This is the Guardian Prime; the Palace has been breached! Repeat, the Palace has been breached! Imperial Guardians to level fifty-nine, all other chimera and loyalist forces converge on the square. Drive back whatever the hell comes out of those holes; for the Emperor!” He hung up and hurried back to his master’s side, Stiles nodding approvingly at him. 

“Good thinking, Connor.” The Emperor patted his pauldron and grinned. “Is Commander Strauss on the ground?”

“He should be.” Connor joined them at the edge of the balcony, watching as Strauss led a group of zealous chimeras from the Imperial Palace’s entrance, clashing with the goo-covered monsters that poured out of the holes. “Corrupted.” 

“Our containment isn’t working.” Theo muttered darkly, seeing a localized blizzard form over them as the ice Elementals dropped shards and spears of frost onto the Corrupted, pinning them in place for the other chimeras to approach, smashing the monsters’ heads to pieces, explosions of goop filling the square. The battle was over quickly; once the earth Elemental chimeras arrived to cave in the attack tunnels and cut off their reinforcements. “They could attack us anywhere. This isn’t good.”

“Understatement.” Corey muttered before brightening up. “Hey, I know! I’ll get them to pull the seismographs out of storage and set them up, so we can detect if anymore tunnels are formed.”

“Great idea, Corey.” Stiles nodded. “But that will only allow us to react in time, not stop them. We have to strike at the Harvester and soon; the Maw can help us, we only need to return to the Hellscape and request its aid.”

“Yeah, _only_ that!” Theo laughed, turning away from the battlefield and following Stiles into the cooler room, the others on his heels. “Is there no other way?”

“The Ancient chimeras told me that they drove out the Harvester once before, forcing it to go north into Europe. Connor and I agree that the druids and darachs were the ones that trapped it inside the Nemeton or used the Nemeton as a prison.” Stiles explained, gesturing for them to leave the room, a phalanx of Guardians surrounding the group as they made their way down the long, winding staircase that encircled the central column of the Palace. 

“And all the darachs and druids were killed in the ritual to bring Scott back?” Theo finished with a sigh. “There could be others.”

“Even if there were others, they would never speak to us, and we could not be sure of how much they said would be true.” Stiles shook his head. “No, we will talk with the Maw and we will prepare our forces to assault that spreading monstrosity of a city the Harvester is building in the jungle. They’re almost ready, a few more days and I’ll have enough of the Chimera Army in place to take it.”

“And in the meantime?”

“That won’t be the Harvester’s only attack.” Stiles caught Connor’s eye and nodded, the Guardian Prime bowing to him, before hurrying away. “Corey, you and I discussed the protocol for defending against an attack on the capital before, haven’t we?”

“Yup,” The younger chimera replied quickly. “Extra resources are assigned to all guards, Parrish and Strauss are to identify the weaker areas and patrol them together, I’ll head down to the Command Center and see what the latest intel is. I’ll keep you guys posted.”

“Later, Corey,” Stiles patted his back as he passed, “And we will talk about what you wanted to at another time, ok?”

“Ok, Stiles!”

 

“He isn’t back yet, Liam.” Philip touched his boyfriend’s arm, gesturing for them to move into a quieter corner of the chimera conversion labs. “And when he does, I’m sure there’ll be a perfectly reasonable explanation for everything.”

“Oh really?” Liam scowled. “You’re letting the fact that he’s a chimera cloud your judgement; remember what I told you, he’s not like us, he doesn’t really believe in the Empire or the Chimera Emperor. And I don’t think Scott can justify what he’s been doing.”

“What do you mean?”

“We’ve been to every lab, talked to all the scientists and doctors-thanks for using your clearance, by the way.” Liam flashed a smile at him before his countenance darkened again. “And we’ve looked at the logs too, that’s why I know he’s been working against the Empire.”

“Careful, Liam.” The Manticore looked around nervously. “Allegations of treason are dangerous.”

“I know, but there’s no other explanation for why Scott returns practically empty-handed every time.” The chimera frowned, pulling up the records on a nearby screen for Philip to look at. “See? He’s claiming that none of the werewolves from the last six packs have chosen to become chimeras, instead they’ve all been killed. Scott’s even saying he’s killed a few to mix it up.”

“So?”

“So, Scott would never do that; he might be a chimera, the Emperor might have forced him to kill that terrorist, hell, he killed to protect me before, but this?” Liam shook his head. “He’s saying that he killed them in cold blood when they refused to join the Empire. This one was only ten years old! Scott would never kill a kid!”

“Ok, so, he’s taking credit for his squad’s kills?” Philip shrugged, “It’s petty and pretty disgusting that he’d lie about that, but I don’t understand the significance; especially when this was to be his final mission. Chimera Intelligence said that they don’t have any more information on other werewolf packs. They’re looking to expand his operation globally but-”

“This is the last one?” Liam broke in, his pulse ticking higher. “If he’s recruiting them, or letting them go free, maybe he has some crazy plan, we need to find out!”

“Liam, relax, what could he possibly do? And besides, I thought we’d managed to convince him that the Empire are the good guys?”

“We need to talk to his pack, I mean, squad.” He ignored Philip’s questions, typing quickly instead to pull up the recent flight logs. His boyfriend placed a hand on his back and Liam paused, biting his lip. “I know what I’m doing, and I have to, we just got Scott back, I won’t let him get himself killed over some stupid plan he might have.”

“We’ll know more if we talk to his squad.” Philip agreed, stepping closer to him. “I’m here for you, whatever you need.”

“Got it.” Liam turned to him, meeting his purple-eyed stare. “And thanks, good to know you have my back. They’re on pad one-oh-three, by the eastern ramparts.”

“Great, let’s go before another wave of those Corrupted shows up, huh?” Philip grinned at him and followed Liam back through the labs towards one of the external elevators. Once they were alone in the glass and steel tube, he turned to his boyfriend and asked the one question that had been on his mind since Liam shared the email with him. “You don’t really want Scott to be guilty of treason, right?”

“Why would you say that?”

“Well, it’s just I know how much you’ve tried to demonstrate to everyone that you are a loyal member of the Empire and that the Emperor’s commands are just as important to you as they are to me.” Philip replied carefully. “But handing Scott over, even if he is guilty, that won’t-”

“I’m not doing this to prove a point.” Liam cut across him. “I’m doing to keep Scott alive, to stop whatever plot he has to separate the Emperor from the First Chimera, that’s always been Scott’s thing: he thinks Theo was the one who influenced St-uh, the Alpha Chimera, and brought him on this path. As long as Scott doesn’t do anything stupid before we get to him…we’ll all be fine.”

They emerged from the elevator onto the busy landing pads, Ospreys roaring around them, engines howling as dozens of the aircraft took off and landed every few minutes, hundreds of chimeras marching to and fro between the clearly numbered helicopter aprons. “Over here.” Liam shouted, pointing at an Osprey whose rotors were still spinning, a group of chimeras standing around the exit ramp. “Hey! Are you Scott McCall’s group?!”

“Yeah, Sal.” A woman called back, turning to face them. “And you are?”

“He’s Liam, I’m Philip, the Manticore.” Philip smiled at their short bows toward him. “Glory to the Emperor!”

“Glory!”

“We’re looking for Scott, where is he?”

“He’s not here.” Sal gestured vaguely in the direction they came. “He’s escorting the last group of werewolves to the labs for chimera conversion.”

“Just like all the other times?” Liam demanded. “He escorted the groups of those who surrendered alone?”

“Sure,” She nodded. “Chimera Intelligence says our job begins and ends at the Osprey, not a step further. Why? What’s going on?”

“Nothing,” Philip answered quickly before Liam could speak. “Just ensuring that proper protocols were being followed. The Emperor is grateful for your service.” He inclined his head at them, grabbing his boyfriend’s arm and escorted him away. “Keep quiet for a minute.”

 

“Fuck!” Liam snarled, whirling around in the center of the storage shed he and Philip had slipped into. “What the hell is Scott playing at?!”

“It looks bad.” Philip admitted. “Have you tried calling him? Especially now that we know he’s in the city; I’ll get onto the chimera conversion labs and see if they’ve heard from him.”

“Right, right.” Liam nodded, letting his boyfriend leave and then he pulled out his phone. The first call went to voicemail, the second went the same way, and the third, until finally Scott picked up, his voice crackling and breaking apart. “Scott, can you hear me?”

“Just barely, hang on.”

“Where are you? We need to meet, _now,_ Scott.”

“Ok, ok, just hang on.” Scott sounded calm, reasonable, just like Liam was used to. “What’s this about?”

“I got your email, and we need to talk about that.” The chimera heard the catch in Scott’s voice. “You should know as well as I do that Chimera Intel intercepts all calls and analyses them for buzzwords, so unless you want to do this over the phone, we meet face to face.”

“Alright, fine, but just you, Liam, leave your boyfriend at home.” Scott said. “Come to Lakewood, I’ll have someone escort you in, and we’ll talk. You have things you need to tell me too, Liam, things I would have _expected_ you to tell me.”

Scott hung up suddenly and Liam blinked at his abruptness; He could feel the heat in Scott’s voice. “Weird.”

“You made contact?” Philip asked, returning at a run. “Liam?”

“Yeah, I did.” The chimera chewed his lip. “Something is wrong, I’m not sure what, but he’s agreed to meet me-just me. Let me go alone, figure out what he’s up to, and if we need to involve anyone else, we will.”

“Alright.” Philip placed his hands onto Liam’s shoulders. “You might be older than me, but please, be safe and get back here in one piece.”

“Don’t worry, I will.” Liam grinned and kissed him hard, feel the buzz of their lips after he pulled back. “Better you wait in our apartment; I’ll find you there after I’m done.”

 

Liam growled as the blindfold was finally removed. “Was that really necessary?”

“Sorry, Liam.” Scott moved around the werewolf in front of him as she stepped to one side-the glowing blue eyes revealing the woman wasn’t a chimera. “I needed to be careful, rescuing werewolves from forced chimera conversion is a dangerous business.”

“I bet; since it violates your orders and puts everyone around you in danger.”

“Whose side are you on, _chimera?_ ” The werewolf snarled, “Scott said you were an ally!”

“I don’t want the Emperor to have an excuse to try and kill you again, Scott.” Liam replied, carefully choosing his words. “You know that Stiles would do that in a heart-beat, right?”

“Stiles wouldn’t.” Scott shook his head. “But Theo would make him do it; Theo and Corey and Connor and everyone else around him would make Stiles do all those terrible things. Stiles wouldn’t, he couldn’t.”

Liam stared at Scott, seeing his former Alpha shake his head again, muttering the refusal over and over. He glanced at the others around him in the concrete tunnel that he had been brought to, the werewolves and humans had hard, cold expressions. A quick flare of his nostrils told Liam that they weren’t buying Scott’s words either. “Scott, listen to me, I don’t know what you’re planning, but the Chimera Empire is too powerful-”

“No, it isn’t.” A dark-haired young man stepped forth. “The power comes from Stiles, we take him out and everything else will crumble around him.”

“Ok, but _how_ do you expect to get to him?” Liam shrugged. “He’s protected at all times; Guardians, chimeras, he has his own abilities too, don’t forget.”

“We know,” Scott placed his hand on Liam’s shoulder and guided him away from the others, holding up his hand as the youth made to follow them. “It’s ok, Gabe, I trust Liam.”

“If you say so, Scott.”

“I know that we can’t strike at Stiles, not me, not you.” Scott explained once they were alone. “We’re chimeras, he can stop us. But that’s why I’ve got humans like Gabe and all the werewolves I’ve saved from conversion; they’re on our side, along with the last of the original rebels. It’s a united army, Liam, strong enough to attack the Palace, get Stiles away from his protection, and when they do, I can convince him to stand down, I know I can!”

“Oh dear god.” Liam stared at him, lips parted. “You cannot be serious; you will be eviscerated before you make it past the entrance to the Imperial Palace. Scott, don’t do this! And even if it does work, you really think your allies out there like Gabe are going to give you the opportunity to _talk_ to Stiles?”

“Of course,” Scott frowned. “Why wouldn’t they?”

“Look, I know you’ve been dead and you missed out on the war that killed half the world’s population, but these guys are bitter and extreme and have lost everything,” Liam pleaded with him. “They won’t care how big a mess they make to take Stiles out; innocent people and chimeras are going to get hurt, killed, you can’t let that happen.”

“Do you really think there’s such a thing as an innocent chimera?” 

“Scott, please, listen to me; don’t do this.” The chimera grabbed his arm and locked his gaze on Scott’s yellow eyes. “Your mission is complete, Stiles won’t ask you to come with us to defeat the Harvester, you can stay here, or go back to the Fount-”

“Beacon Hills.” Scott pulled his arm free. “It’s called Beacon Hills, Liam. And it’s too late, my army is already here, getting into position. Gerard’s paranoia even gave us exactly what we needed to create a big enough distraction to get to Stiles. Trust me, we can do this, and I’d feel better if you joined with me.”

“Me?”

“You freed Mason, didn’t you? He told me that.”

“Fuck.”

“You clearly don’t agree with everything Stiles has done, or anything!” Scott grinned at him. “The only ones we’re going to hurt are chimeras who have done the most evil: Theo, Corey, Connor, those are our targets, Liam.”

“Ok, look,” Liam sighed. “I can’t just help you, it would look way too convenient to your followers; they’ll think I’m a spy. But if you tell me when this attack is going down, I’ll be able to get most of the chimeras out of the way before they get killed unnecessarily. The ones who are just following the Emp-Stiles' commands, the younger ones who don't have anything to do with this. Does that sound acceptable?”

“Ok.” Scott nodded after a moment. “That makes sense. I’ll get Gabe to take you back to Lakewood now, and I’ll text you when it’s starting.” 

 

“That’s all he said?” Philip pressed him, drying his hair with one hand as Liam shrugged. “Ok, this is about as bad as it gets.”

“It could be worse.”

“I don’t see how,” The Manticore sighed, dropping the towel. “I’ll call Connor, maybe we can-”

“What? Don’t!” Liam darted across the room to block him from the phone. “Scott just texted me, they’ll be getting into position, but they won’t attack for another twenty minutes.”

“So, we hold off until, when?! They’re at the door?!” Philip shook his head, eyes flaring in anger. “Liam, withholding this information is a crime, innocent people could get hurt, we have to warn the Imperial Council if no one else!”

Liam blinked, hearing his own words echoed back at him. “Look, I’m going to find Scott, he’s inside the Palace, I can stop him from doing this!”

“You couldn’t convince him in the storm drains, you’re not going to convince him now.” The chimera sighed as Liam shrugged and walked out the door. “Just don’t get yourself killed!”

“I’ll be careful.”

Philip changed into his underwear, pulling on combat trousers and a t-shirt, giving Liam enough time to get out of the residential wing, before he walked back over to the phone, dialling into the exchange. “This is the Manticore, get me the First Chimera and the Guardian Prime, I need to report an urgent matter of Imperial Security… Well, interrupt them! This threat is directed at the Emperor Himself and cannot wait!”

 

“I don’t know, Jordan.” Strauss said as they walked through the deserted port district. “Is this really the best place to patrol? Or are you hoping for another quickie on the side? We almost got caught last time!”

“Haha,” The Hellhound laughed, rubbing shoulders with his boyfriend. “As much as I’d enjoy that, we are on high alert: if more of those Corrupted come through…”

“Yeah, I hear you.” They kept walking along the vast concrete pier, devoid of cargo ships as the aged hull of the USS Iowa rode its anchor on the opposite bank. “I was actually thinking for dinner tonight we might try that-”

“Hang on.” Parrish held up his hand, wings of fire unfurling behind him, lifting him a few feet into the air. “There’s someone unloading cargo at the other end of Terminal Island. Give me your hands.” He grasped Strauss’ arms and flew them both quickly down the pier, seeing the ship that had offloaded the container steaming hard out into the bay. The chimeras dropped onto the ground in front of the group that were standing inside the metal box. “What’s going on here, fellas?”

“You could’ve diverted south, and used the Imperial Docks,” Strauss pointed out helpfully. “They’re about ten miles down the coast, but there’s a better connection to infrastructure links.”

“We’re good.”

“What’s your name?” Parrish asked, dousing his flames and reaching for the torch on his belt instead, flashing it around the container. “What’s in that crate?”

“Name’s Gabe, and that crate is private, nothing that can concern the, uh, civilian guard.”

“Huh,” Parrish shook his head. “I don’t know where you’ve come from, but all freight needs a sticker to indicate approval from my office, or I can give it to you now if you open it up.” He glanced at Strauss, the other chimera shrugging. “Well?”

“That’s not going to happen, Hellhound.” Gabe reached into his pocket, his skin pale, sweat breaking out across his face. “I guess this will have to be close enough.”

“What’s in your hand?”

“The Chimera Empire will never win!” Gabe opened his palm, a sleek black detonator in his hand. He grinned as Parrish stared at him.

“A bomb, but that’s-” The rest of his words were lost in a rush of heat, as the weapon exploded in his face. “Ah!” Parrish roared, intense heat and pressure ripping through him, his Hellhound form absorbing the impact. He half turned, eyes widening as he watched Strauss’ form hang in the air for a moment before it was turned to ash. His sight was lost completely in the searing white heat that expanded in every direction, forcing him to fly through the storm-force winds to clear the radius of the explosion, watching the water being vaporized. As Parrish looked back at where the cargo pier should have been, he saw only a melting basin of super-heated air. The Hellhound diverted his gaze up at the towering column of smoke and fire, feeling his stomach clenching hard. “Mushroom cloud…”

 

“I really don’t think that we should-”

“Get down!” Connor roared over Theo, shoving him into the Emperor’s apartment and diving on his master, the sight of the massive ball of energy exploding from the southern edge of the city giving him enough warning to get them to safety. “Stay down!”

“What is it, Connor?” The Emperor grunted, muffled under the Guardian Prime’s armored form. “Is it the Corrupted again?”

“Not this time, at least, I hope not.” Connor kept his master hugged tight underneath him, the blast wave from the atomic explosion finally reaching the Imperial Palace, shaking the fixtures from the walls as the sky retched into bruised yellows and oranges, the lights flickering and dying. “We need to get You into the bunker, Emperor, we are under attack!”

 

Red lights were flashing around him, and chimeras rushed to their stations as sirens rent the air and Corey stared at the live feed coming from the cameras on the top of the ziggurat. “What the hell is going on out there?!”

“Radiological alert!”

“Instruments are reading a nuclear detonation!”

“What…” Corey suddenly felt very out of his depth and he swallowed hard, feeling his t-shirt stick to his back. The chimera's eyes were locked onto the screen, staring at the fireball expanding across the city. A moment later the live feed went dead and fear lanced into his chest at the implications of what he had just witnessed. “Uh, um, where did it come from?”

“Radar is clear!” 

“None of our satellites detected incoming missiles or ICBMs!” 

“Well, uh, sea? Um, sub, sub-surface?” Corey looked at the military officers next to him, just as young as he was, just as lost. _And this is why you always keep some of the old guard around…_ “Well?!”

“Negative, sir, no contacts on surface radar or subsurface sonar.”

“EMP has hit us, all electronics outside the hardened sites are down, we are operating in the blind!”

“Must have been ground attack then.” The chimera took a few deep breaths and nodded. “Ok, ok, um, scramble all defensive aerial chimeras to sweep the city for attackers, initiate the Emergency Defensive Protocol and lockdown the Palace. Find, uh, find the Emperor and First Chimera.”

“Yes, sir!”

“Blast is being contained, Minister!” One of his chimeras called out and Corey hurried over. “We have one of our cameras at Wilmington still operational somehow, I’m seeing Elemental chimeras, uh, it looks like they’re trying to control the fireball.”

“Ok, ok, that’s good.” Corey wet his lips and looked around at the panic, trying not to get caught up in it. “Um, we need to start thinking about, err, search and rescue operations, and, and, uh, get communications back up!” _Growler…my puppy! No, he’s safe, he’ll crawl under my bed like he does during thunderstorms, it’ll be fine. If something happened to Growler, they’ll regret it!_

 

Parrish stared at the miles of destruction around him, entire districts of the city levelled, fires spreading rapidly along ruptured gas pipelines. The wind was strong against him as he flew back into the city, seeing the air Elemental chimeras directing the currents out to sea. “Get the fallout away from the humans, smart.” 

He drifted over the impact crater, swallowing hard as he remembered the look in Aaron’s eyes before he was turned to dust. The Hellhound landed next to another fire Elemental, also naked and burning. The air was still hot; shimmering, the asphalt melting underfoot as he strode through the lines of chimeras battling to contain the effects of the atomic blast. “I need a damn phone!”

 

“Get out of the way!” Connor roared, moving rapidly down the hallway, leading a squad of the Imperial Guardians gathered around the Chimera Emperor and Theo. “Move aside!” Every hallway they passed through was sealed by another of the heavy steel blast-doors. “We’ll get You to the bunker and then-”

“Take me to the throne room,” The Emperor cut him off. “There’s sufficient defenses there, and I can co-ordinate better.” 

“That’s not advisable, master.” Connor shoved a chimera that didn’t move fast enough out of their way against a wall. “Based on what I saw, that could have just been the first strike, we need-”

“No, Connor.” He replied firmly. “Throne room. Now.”

“As You command.” The Guardian Prime growled, his anger palpable as they entered the armoury. He stopped suddenly, sniffing the air. “Something smells off. Hector, escort the Emperor into the throne room and stay with Him, take five others and use the winding passage. The rest of you, stay with me.”

“Yes, Guardian Prime!”

“I’m going to find Corey.” Theo looked at Connor, getting his nod of approval. “He’ll be in the Command Center.”

“Our internal communication lines should be intact.”

“I’ll call you once I’m in.” The First Chimera hesitated as though he wanted to say something else, but Connor waved him away. “Alright, I’m going.”

“Keep an eye out, Theo, expect the second wave to hit us when we least expect it.” Connor replied. “I’ll take my group and secure the outer gate. The Emperor will contact you to determine our counter-attack options.”

“See you, Connor.” Theo nodded and hurried away, the blast door sealing behind him. 

“Chimeras, move out!”

 

“Theo!” Corey grinned at him as soon as he was allowed through the security point. They hugged briefly before the younger chimera released him, turning back to focus on his work. Garrett was standing next to a group of operators, speaking quickly and pointing at various locations on the interactive map.

“What’s he doing here?” Theo frowned, trying to look at every screen at once. 

“I need him,” Corey flushed but the First Chimera didn’t seem to notice. “Uh, we just got a communication line back up; Parrish was there! Right at the epicentre, but he’s fine, Strauss is dead though. And we might be following him soon.”

“What do you mean?”

“The way he was talking, what he described of his attackers, sounds like rebels.” 

“Fuck.” Theo cursed, nodding at Garrett when he looked over. “I guess it makes sense to have the Empire’s premier rebel hunter with us. Just give me the latest info.”

“Estimates are that it’s a relatively small thermonuclear weapon, somewhere in the hundred-kiloton range,” Corey read off a clipboard, bringing Theo over to one of the few working external cameras. “The Elemental chimeras have contained the blast and much of the fallout, with a few air Elementals directing the hazardous particles far out into the ocean. But we’ve hundreds, if not thousands of people dead; it’s a very popular area of the city down by the docks, reports are flooding in of fires, tidal waves, destroyed buildings, broken glass, widespread injuries-”

“So, you’re telling me that I won’t be visiting the USS Iowa any time soon?” The First Chimera smirked.

“Is now really the time for joking, Theo?” Corey looked at him with a frown. “We need to find out who’s attacking us and respond. Parrish confirmed that the bomb was ground-burst, this is probably only the first stage. I have everyone who’s not working on SAR combing through communications records from the past week, someone knows something.”

“And then we make them pay!” Theo grinned coldly, picking up on the scents of anger that filled the Command Center, shock and surprise giving way to a thirst for vengeance. He tilted his head, going over to a nearby radio receiver and twiddled the knob until he could hear Connor’s voice clearly.

“…Say again, we are under attack! Humans and werewolves have breached the main gate! They’ve got guns, armored vehicles, and heavy weapons. All forces pull back into the Palace, strongpoint is the throne room, repeat-” He was cut off by a hiss of static and Theo looked sharply at Corey.

“Get whatever Chimera Army forces are available into the city now!” The First Chimera turned around, heading for the exit.

“Where are you going?” Corey stared at him. “You’ll be safer here!”

“I can’t let Connor fight up there alone! He’s got barely ten Guardians, they won’t last against that composition!” Theo glared at him when the younger chimera grabbed his arm. “Corey, I’ll be fine, besides, Stiles is in his throne room, not the bunker.”

“Fuck.” He released Theo and nodded. “I’ll divert whatever I can to you.”

 

“Scott!” Liam called out, pushing past the humans and hunters to get to the other chimera. “Scott, did you see that?!”

“It’s the distraction, relax.” He seemed unconcerned and pointed down the corridor. “Stiles has to come this way to enter the throne room, we overheard Connor splitting them up.”

“Ok, but wait just a second, I passed by the southern gallery, I saw your _distraction!_ ” Liam glared at him. “What the hell, Scott? You said only the ones responsible would get hurt!”

“So, Gabe didn’t have time to bring it to the top of the Path of Legends?” Scott frowned. “Did it go off at the port?”

“Yeah, and it would’ve taken half of the city with it if the chimeras hadn’t intervened!”

“What are you talking about, it’s just a big bomb.”

“Try a _nuclear_ bomb, Scott.” Liam blinked, anger draining when he smelt and saw Scott’s shock and instant remorse. “You didn’t know, did you?”

“I thought…Argent had it just lying there, I didn’t know it was…” He looked at the humans next to him. “Did you guys know?”

“Stiles will be coming shortly, Scott,” One of the veteran rebels replied, deflecting the question and pointing at the other end of the hallway, the sound of metal boots on the stone. “Your werewolves should get ready.”

“That means Gabe is dead?” Scott swallowed hard, shaking his head. “Ok, we’re still going-”

“What?” Liam grabbed his arms. “No, no, no, Scott, you need to leave! Get out of here, pretend this never happened, that you weren’t here; we’ll blame the rebels just like always.”

“It’s time!” The veteran cried out, leading the charge of the non-converted werewolves down the narrow passageway. “For Freedom!”

“This is insane, they’ll be butchered, Scott!” Liam begged him, shaking his head as he saw the former Alpha’s eyes grow hard. 

“The time for talking is over, Liam.”

 

“What’s going on?” Stiles pushed through his ranks of Guardians, smirking as he saw the group of yellow-eyed men and women in front of him. “Ah, good, the Guardian Prime needs help holding the doors at the front.” He waited for them to move, frowning when they didn’t. “I just gave you a command, chimera!”

“We’re not chimeras!” One of them leapt forward, clawed hand swiping out before Stiles could stop it, his eyes flashing purple in desperation. 

“Ah!” He reeled backwards, blinded in one eye by the blood that flowed from a cut across his forehead. “Kill them! Kill them all!”

“No, please, don’t!” 

One voice screamed from the rabble, but the Chimera Emperor ignored it and released a sheet of lightning, the electricity crackling along the ground to cover his retreat. Stiles grunted in pain, his face on fire, letting the Guardians pick him up and carry him backwards, nostrils flaring as he took in the scent of fury and power passing him by, one eye cracking open to see the Guardian Prime charging down the hallway towards the werewolves. “Now you’ll all die…”

 

Connor nodded at Brett, having grabbed the other chimera as they retreated from the battle outside, the remnants of Strauss’ Palace Guard holding the werewolves and human rebels back. “Are you ready for this?”

“For what?”

“A bloodbath, yarr!” Connor put on an extra burst of speed when Brett grinned at him, smashing into the fleeing werewolves. The first one he caught in his hands, Connor ripped apart, spraying their organs across the narrow walls, blood soaking him as his eyes burned with purple fire. “Die, traitor!” The Guardian Prime’s serrated claws shot out and buried themselves in the back of another werewolf, lifting the struggling supernatural up and allowing Brett to slash her neck, hot blood drenching their faces and flooding down his armor. “Show them no mercy!”

“That won’t be a problem.” Brett growled in response, crushing the skull of a fragile human against the wall. He could hear the other Guardians behind him slaughtering with equal amounts of rage, seemingly fuelled by the torrents of fury that was pouring off Connor, the Guardian Prime wading deep into the pack of werewolves, driving them back towards the entrance hall near the throne room. “Leave some for me!”

“You’ll have to speed up then!” Connor glared at the blue-eyed werewolf that had slashed at his armor, a deep furrow dug along his breastplate. He snorted and backhanded her, sending the werewolf crashing into the floor. The Guardian Prime’s eyes widened when he caught sight of the last two men fleeing their slaughter, outrunning the other insurgents. _Liam and Scott. Well, who else?_ He stomped down hard, feeling the werewolf’s chest cave in around his armored boot and walked on through the hallway full of dead and broken bodies, blood sloshing like water around his feet, his armor dyed crimson from the cast-off and gore. “There is nowhere left for you to run!”

“Damn right!” Theo skidded to a halt, his arms out to block Scott and Liam’s progress. His lips parted and eyes glowed when he looked over at Connor. “Glad to see you’re still alive, Guardian Prime.”

“Likewise.” Connor nodded. _Theo must think he’s in heaven._ He supressed the laugh that threatened to spill from his mouth when the First Chimera stared at him, his arousal cutting through the copper stench that accompanied the shedding of so much blood. Connor looked down at the final werewolf that had thrown herself on the ground at his feet, cowering, arms held over her face, begging for mercy. “There can be no pity for those who would defy our great Emperor, who would bring death and destruction to our mighty city.” He looked over at Scott and Liam before flicking his eyes down to lift up the trembling werewolf by the neck, his claws digging deep. A moment later Connor clenched his fist and ripped the woman’s throat out, blinking in the spray of blood that drenched his face, hearing Theo’s whine on the edge of his range. Dropping the body, the Guardian Prime looked at Scott, Brett circling around him. “Surrender and we will grant you a quick death.”

“Ok, ok, I know this looks bad.” Liam held out his hands, trying to defuse the situation. “Why don’t we just calm down, wait for the Emperor to arrive and-”

“He will not be coming.” Connor snarled. 

“And we don’t need him to.” Theo added, grinning cruelly. “Your little coup or rebellion or whatever this is has failed, Scott. The Chimera Army are air-dropping in as we speak, finishing off whoever is left in the square, our Elemental chimeras prevented your nuke from destroying the city, and your plot to kidnap the Emperor has just been ripped to shreds by the extremely talented Guardian Prime. It’s over.”

“I never meant…it was supposed to be a distraction in the square, I didn’t think-” Scott tried to explain, but Liam cut him off with a furious shake of his head.

“And you, Liam?” Theo gestured at him. “I’d like to say that I’m surprised, but really, I’m not.”

“I wasn’t involved!” The chimera protested. “I was trying to stop him!”

“It’s true!” Philip gasped, pushing open the doors of the Palace, the battlefield behind him covered in bodies and plumes of smoke, Ospreys hovering in the air. “Guardian Prime, it’s true, we were investigating Scott; Liam more than me, he thought something was wrong.”

“Hmm.” Connor looked at the two of them and then down at where his claws extended from his gauntlets, picking bits of flesh and gore from where the debris had become caked. “Perhaps. Submit yourself to the Emperor’s judgement, and perhaps He will be merciful towards you, Liam.”

“I submit.” Liam knelt down, raising his arms. He looked at Scott, seeing a flicker of defiance fire in his eyes, before fading when the chimera looked outside at the bruised sky and hundreds of dead bodies. Liam nodded at Philip when Scott knelt beside him. “It’ll be ok.”

 

Corey stared, grim-faced, at Scott and the other conspirators, the ones who had been captured in battle, their faces bruised and cut up, only Scott remaining unscathed. The throne room was filled with chimeras, the Imperial Guardians holding the two dozen terrorists firmly in their fists, armored hands wrapped around unresisting throats, yet the seat of the Emperor before them was empty. Corey exchanged a careful look with Philip, the Legendary chimera standing next to Liam on the other side of the room. _Not exactly innocent, but the phone logs prove that he was investigating Scott and that seems to have been enough for Stiles to grant him mercy. Guy has nine lives, or maybe Stiles really likes him that much. Speaking of, where is Stiles?_

The chimera left the throne room, slipping into the small antechamber and closing the door behind him. Stiles was slumped sideways in a chair behind a desk, two Guardians flanking him, Connor and Theo standing in front of the table, their expressions hard. “What? What is it?”

“We have a problem.” Theo muttered, gesturing at Stiles. “I think he’s in shock.”

“It’s been a few hours, He should be over it by now.” Connor frowned, seeing the Emperor stare straight through the desk, his lips moving, but the words didn’t make any sense. “He keeps talking about ‘sending it back’ and ‘finding the source,’ does that mean anything to you, Minister?”

“No, nothing.” Corey wet his lips, moving closer to Stiles. “Hey, it’s me. I know there was a lot of death and destruction earlier, but it’s over, we won.” He waited for a moment, but Stiles didn’t respond. “Um, guys, we have a full house out there waiting for the Emperor’s judgement.”

“He can’t go out there like that, right?” Theo glanced at Connor. “That would be an open invitation for whatever rebels are left to attack us again.”

“Agreed.” The Guardian Prime nodded slowly. “Corey, go back out, I know what to do.”

“Ok, I’ll tell them it’ll just be a moment.” He smiled tightly and walked out. _Fuck, Stiles! We conquer the world and the Wild Hunt, and **now** you decide to have a nervous breakdown?!_

 

“You have a plan, right?” Theo whispered to him as they exited the antechamber.

“Of course, First Chimera.” Connor looked at him, their eyes connecting for a heart-beat. “I will ask you to support me in what I’m about to do, and trust that everything will return to normal in a few days once the Emperor is recovered.”

“Sure, I’ve got your back.” Theo nodded, the tip of his tongue pushing against his bottom lip as his eyes roved over Connor’s still-bloodied armor, the crimson essence had hardened, becoming darker and yet still so entrancing. It was terrifying…and arousing. “I trust you.”

“Thank you.” Connor nodded and climbed the final steps to stand in front of the throne. He cleared his throat and raised his metal-covered hands, heavy with caked blood and gore. “All praise and glory to the Chimera Emperor!”

“Glory!”

The thunderous response made Connor smile for a moment before his face returned to the grim expression Theo had seen him with since they arrested Scott that afternoon. He began to speak again. “The Emperor is currently recovering from grave wounds inflected by the rebel scum, and as such is indisposed. He cannot carry out judgement of the traitor and his conspirators. Therefore, as Guardian Prime and Prophet of the Emperor, under Edict One-Thirty-Five passed by the Imperial Council in the Second Year of Imperial Unity, I am assuming fully and total control of the Empire until such a time as our glorious master is well enough to rule once more.” 

He looked at Theo, seeing the First Chimera’s jaw slacken, Connor smiled grimly as he turned to regard the lone chimera held in chains at the foot of the dais. “Scott McCall: leader and organizer of the werewolf rebellion, you were offered a second chance by the Chimera Emperor Himself. Your response? To spit in His face! Your attack using an atomic weapon has killed thousands of our people and wounded tens of thousands more. Your weapon would have turned entire districts of our proud city into smoking ruins with no regard for who might be consumed in nuclear fire in order to get your revenge on the god who resurrected you!” 

He took a breath as the hundreds of chimeras filling the throne room roared abuse at Scott, raising his hands to quieten them. “Therefore, by the powers invested in me by the Imperial Council, I sentence you to be held in the Dark Prison until such a time as your execution can be arranged.” The Guardian Prime paused, glaring at Scott. “Your co-conspirators will be executed now, by my hand in accordance with Imperial law.”

“Fuck…” Theo muttered, feeling his already hard cock drool in his trousers. _I’ve never been this turned on when Stiles issues Imperial decrees! It must be all that blood coating him all over, he didn’t ever bother to wash it off his face…_ The chimera bit his lip and joined the others as they knelt along with Connor in front of the empty throne.

“All glory to the God-Emperor, Master of Chimeras, the Unified Overmind, Supreme Ruler of the Earth, the Alpha Chimera!” The Guardian Prime roared at the top of his lungs, head bowed, and arms raised. “May He rule forever!”

“Glory!”

Theo moved forward when Connor stood up and inclined his head at him. “What do you need, err-”

“Guardian Prime is sufficient.” Connor gestured at the prisoners. “Take one side and I’ll take the other. As second in rank only to the Emperor, you carrying out this execution will lend legitimacy to the sentence.”

“Well, we can’t have the sentence being doubted, can we?” Theo grinned, flicking out his claws. “Let’s get started!”

Connor nodded and moved to the other end of the line, gesturing for the Guardians to turn and deliver the punishment to the row behind Scott. “Begin.” The Guardians used a single action to punch their claws through the humans’ necks, killing them instantly, Connor following their lead as Theo gleefully slashed their throats open in order to sate his bloodlust, the crimson liquid splattering all over his face and hands, patterning red on his tanned skin. When Connor reached Scott, he stopped and gently wiped his bloody claws on the chimera’s face, “Their blood is on your hands, Scott.”

Theo grinned at him, studying his own blood-slick hands and backing off as the Guardians forced Scott to his feet, escorting him from the throne room, the silence that had gripped the gathered audience suddenly broken as they again jeered and heckled the traitor chimera. The First Chimera wetted his lips, tasting blood and looked at Connor, the Guardian Prime standing on the dais, his expression hard to read as Theo kept concentrating on the way the new blood smears were dripping over the dry ones. He couldn’t help but stare at the other chimera, feeling every hair stand on end, his stomach summersaulting, a damp spot forming in his trousers. _Oh, this is…I could stare at him like this forever!_

Connor opened his mouth again, looking over to where Greenberg was standing with the rest of the Imperial Council. “We will continue our search and rescue operations; recovery forces are on the ground and will begin shifting through the debris. Chimeras are strong: the strength of the Emperor runs in our veins! We will endure! We will conquer any who dare oppose us! Glory to our Empire!” He waited for the enthusiastic cheering to subside and looked to the other side of the hall at the gathered chimera priests and bare-chested warriors. “Faithful! The hour has come to purge the city of anyone with rebel leanings or sympathies! In the face of such an act of violence and terror, there can be no other response than to crack down on all forms of dissent and subversion. We must do this for the protection of our divine Empire and all those who dwell with its safety.” The Guardian Prime nodded and watched the priests disperse into the crowd, turning to gesture for Theo and Corey to follow him. “Let us check on the Emperor’s condition.”

“Oh, yeah.” Theo muttered, suddenly realizing he had totally forgotten about Stiles since following Connor out into the throne room. _Connor is loyal, so I know that wasn’t a power-play, but they all just followed his orders without question. If he wasn’t loyal, if he actually wanted the Empire, he just demonstrated how terrifyingly easy it would be to take it. He smells uneasy, well, he smells pretty great with all the blood on him, staining his skin and dripping everywhere and…_ Theo’s thoughts trailed off as he swallowed the salvia that was gathering in his mouth. “C’mon, Corey.”

 

The cell was dark, buried deep under the Imperial Palace, the smell of earth and blood hung heavy on the air as the door was opened for him, and the Chimera Emperor entered, smiling slightly when he saw Scott chained to the wall across from him. “How did we end up here, Scott?”

“Stiles?” Scott mumbled. “Connor said-”

“Yes, I heard him. He’s very good at giving speeches, isn’t he, my perfect Guardian Prime?” Stiles sat on the chair the guard brought in for him, eyes flashing purple, forcing Scott to stand. “I deliberately let Connor take temporary control in order to give the Empire what it needs to survive; blood, vengeance, a clean judgement without any feelings getting in the way.”

“And this?”

“This, well, this is so that _I_ can get what I want.” Stiles grinned. “They all think that you’re dead, that justice has been served. But I went to such difficulty in getting you back, Scott, that I won’t let you die, not yet, not here. I’ve arranged for you to be sent to my deep-sea, deep underwater research lab, ‘The Crag’ as they’ve taken to calling it. Oh, it’s a lovely little place, Scott, buried in the depths of the Pacific Ocean where you will never escape from.”

“Why don’t you just kill me again?” Scott glared at him, hate flowing from his eyes. “After everything you’ve done to me, to Kira, to…why don’t you just get it over with?!”

“Because it is better than living the rest of your life in the Dark Prison or being silently executed.” Stiles stood up, regret weighing his voice down. “This will be the last time we speak to each other, Scott, I’m sorry you could not see past your own morality to witness the vision of glory that I will bring to bear on the Empire. And on the galaxy!”

“If this is the last time, then I want to know why, Stiles?” Scott stood up straighter, glaring at him, tears wet on his face. “What happened to my Mom? And how could you kill a kid?”

“So, Gerard told you after all.” Stiles shrugged. “I thought he might use it to bait you out, but then rebellions don’t happen overnight. Melissa, well, that was unfortunate, wasn’t it? Hayden just going crazy like that, I suppose it might have had something to do with me and Theo turning her back into her natural chimera state. She was the first we had to do that to, but you did steal her from me, Scott.”

“Monster!”

“As for Scott Jr, did Gerard tell you everything?” Stiles smiled cruelly, his eyes burning bright in the darkness. “Oh, no, he couldn’t have, because he didn’t know. Would you like to know _everything,_ Scott?” 

“He told me you killed my son!” Scott roared at him, struggling to break through the paralysis that suddenly washed over him from the neck down. “Why, Stiles? Why?!”

“Because it was necessary.” The Emperor sat back down, gesturing for Scott to follow suit, manipulating his muscles to force the furious chimera to obey. “I had a task for you to do, and I wanted to see if it even could be done, in case one of my valuable chimeras was killed and we were all out of Green Serum. Satomi’s pack were the ones who organized the ritual and the sacrifices-unknowingly of course- they didn’t understand just how much blood would be required to pull you back through the void. They did know that they needed someone with your flesh, your blood, your bones, in short, your son.”

“So, you killed him?” Scott muttered, swallowing a growl, face wet with tears as his sorrow hung in the air between them. “To stop them?”

“Oh, no, I had the same goal in mind,” Stiles gestured dismissively. “I had him killed because of the optics; because I needed to fool everyone else. The fact that he was dead spared him from the agonizing transfer that he would have endured on top of the Nemeton to bring you back, Scott.”

“But, but, Stiles, I don’t…”

“No, you don’t understand.” The Chimera Emperor stood up slowly. “Those two deaths are a big deal to you, aren’t they, Scott? But to me, they’re merely another two bodies to add to a pile that stretches hundreds of feet high; I’ve personally killed thousands of werewolves and Kitsunes and humans, my armies have killed hundreds of millions, while the humans flung nukes at each other out of carefully engineered fear.”

Scott just stared at him, brows furrowed, silent.

“Hmm.” Stiles nodded. “I like playing the benevolent Emperor, and in two hundred years’ time that’s all I’ll be known as. But I don’t hide away from the grim and bloody truth, Scott, at least you know what it’s like now; killing all those innocent people in Victory City.”

“That wasn’t-”

“On your order, Scott!” Stiles roared, eyes flaring as an aura of electricity sparked around him. “Don’t you dare try and claim the moral high ground; you’re just as bad as me now. Worse even, because we had peace, you had a place in this new world. Goodbye, Scott, I hope you enjoy your underwater view of my new Leviathan class chimeras: the perfect testing ground before we venture into space.”

The Chimera Emperor left the cell, pausing as he looked at the two shark chimeras standing nearby. “Take him and ensure that no one sees you; the First Chimera and Guardian Prime can never know about this arrangement.”

“It will be done, Emperor.”


	9. The Oblivion Vortex

Connor glanced at the Emperor’s throne behind him, refusing to sit down even when Greenberg flicked his eyes towards it. “That is where the Emperor sits, and I am not Him.”

“You’ve been in control for three days-”

“And it will end soon enough, the Emperor merely requires some more rest. After all, He hasn’t had a vacation since the conquest of Earth began.” Connor smiled at the other members of the Imperial Council gathered around, and below, the dais at the top of the throne room. “He deserves a break, yes?”

“Of course, Guardian Prime.” Greenberg muttered, looking down at his tablet. “Um, reports of another breach by the Corrupted, this one outside of the Fount of Glory.”

“And?”

“The monsters were successfully beaten back, only two fatalities on our side; consumed by the Harvester’s ooze.” He met Connor’s glare and shrugged. “Elemental chimeras are among the most common in the Empire, but they were late to the party on this occasion. I’ve prepared a draft statement if you want to-”

“I’m sure it’s fine,” Connor waved away the offer, looking instead at the far end of the throne room where his Imperial Guardians had just pulled open the tall doors, allowing him to see all the way out to the plaza at the front of the Palace. It had been mostly repaired by now; the burnt and destroyed vehicles of the rebellion towed away, the one Osprey that had crash-landed near the outer gate was being removed by a squad of flying chimeras. All the bodies were gone, the rebels buried together outside the city, while the loyal humans who had fallen alongside the chimera defenders were to be interred in the crypts beneath the Church of the Emperor in Ascendence that afternoon. _Another grim task to attend to…_

“Guardian Prime?”

“Hmm? Sorry, what is it?”

“The latest damage reports are in,” The chimera checked her notes, looking at him nervously. “In excess of two thousand structures are completely destroyed, and seven thousand more suffered severe or damaging structural faults that will require their replacement; the headquarters of the Imperial Engineering Corp was hit particularly hard; parts of the building collapsed on their engineers. Will I dispatch the crews?”

“See to it,” Connor directed, examining his armored fingers as he spoke. “We must return the capital to gleaming gem it was; the heart of our Empire cannot be grubby or damaged, use whatever resources you need.”

“As you command, Guardian Prime.” She bowed deeply and turned to go.

“Wait!” Connor cried out sharply, raising his hand to halt her departure. “What did you just say? That phrase is only to be spoken to the Emperor.”

“I…of course,” The chimera looked puzzled. “I don’t know why I said that. Um, I’ll get the construction crews mobilized.”

“Good.” The Guardian Prime frowned, an uncomfortable thought itching its way up his spine. _Perhaps that sliver of the Overmind the Emperor placed inside me does more than just get the Ancient chimeras to trust me? But it’s not right, the sooner He returns, the better._ “Err, very well, what about the casualty count? Even with containment, some fallout must have hit the city.”

“Yeah,” Greenberg accepted a report from another chimera. “Chimera Intelligence managed to find a predictive model in one of their server banks. Don’t know where it came from, but they’ve been using that in association with the Department of Human Health and Sciences to determine what areas of the city have been hit. It’s pretty accurate so far.”

“How many are we talking about?”

“Uh, a few thousand; most are chimeras, so they’ll heal on their own, but the rest are humans,” Greenberg shrugged. “The hospitals will do their best and I can issue a decree authorizing the doctors to begin putting them out of their misery.”

“No.” Connor shook his head, looking again at the plaza in the distance. “Under the powers granted to me by the Imperial Council, I have the ability to authorize chimera conversion; which I’m doing for all humans injured or dying from this attack.”

“I…yes, Guardian Prime.” Greenberg muttered, turning away from him, “I guess I’ll go wake up the doctors and surgeons.”

“I’m sure the First Chimera would be delighted to help you.” Connor added with a smirk. “In the meantime, the rest of us should continue to do our jobs, the Emperor will be returning to His rightful position shortly and I do not want this period of recovery to have been squandered.”

“Yes, Guardian Prime.”

“Good.” He nodded at their response and turned away from the view of the plaza, taking a side door instead to leave the throne room and the Imperial Council behind. Connor walked swiftly through the long and uniform corridors of the Palace, emerging near the gardens at the rear of the super-structure. The air was calmer here, the late morning sun beaming down on him, its rays hot on his face as he began to move more slowly next to the wide pool that ran the length of the gardens towards the towering walls beyond the training yards.

The Guardian Prime glanced around him, but he was alone, the other Guardians protecting his master in His apartments high above, the black sides of the ziggurat glinting and shimmering against the cobalt sky. “Soon, it will all be back to normal.” Connor whispered to himself, looking into the water as flashes of silver and gold rippled beneath the calm surface. “We have far too much to accomplish to be defeated here. And this Harvester, maybe it’s probing our defenses, or maybe this is part of a larger attack…” He let the thought drift off and yawned, tiredness tugging at him. _No one has had much sleep, but at least Scott gave himself up and has been tried…yeah, because that’s what has been keeping you from sleeping._ The Guardian Prime grimaced and sat down on a nearby marble bench, thoughts turning to what had happened the day before. 

 

“What are you doing here?” Connor glared at the First Chimera on opening his door, Theo was standing in the hallway beyond, arms folded and a grin on his face. “This is my private apartment; if you need something, you should speak to Oscar, he’s commanding the Guardians while I clean up and get some rest.”

“How do you know it’s not you I wanted to see?” Theo’s grin got larger. “The Emperor is up and about, seems to be back to himself, but he and Corey are watching some chimera-infused trash on the TV, I figured you and I could, um, talk?”

“What is it you want?”

“Are you going to let me in?” Theo stepped closer and Connor pulled back after a moment of considering him. “Thanks.”

“Like I said, I’m about to go to bed.” Connor shut the door with a click and frowned at the back of Theo’s head. “To sleep.”

“Right,” The First Chimera grinned at him again, “I figured as much since you’re not in your armor and we’re almost the same height!”

“Yeah.” Connor folded his arms when Theo stopped in the middle of the living room, seemingly looking out the windows. “So…”

“Oh, right.” Theo turned to him and shrugged. “I guess I’m just checking in.”

“If you say so.”

“Seeing if you…had found any rebels or heretics in that sweep of yours?”

“A few, they’re being held in the cells until they can be interrogated.” Connor replied. “But none of them have any important intel that would require the letting of blood, if that is why you have come here. Should any of them be judged as threats to Imperial Security, I’m sure the Emperor will give them to you for your…for the blood chamber below us.”

“Aww, Connor, you shouldn’t have!” Theo’s voice twisted unpleasantly, and his scent flickered between genuine pleasure and back to the sickly-sweet smell the chimera used when he was masking his real emotions. “I’ll remind St-err, the Emperor, about that later.”

“I’m sure you will.”

“Yeah,” Theo bit his lip, moving closer to him, eyes flicking across Connor’s face as he did so. The Guardian Prime rolled his head from side to side, resisting the urge to deploy his serrated claws, even when Theo grasped his shoulder, the chimera’s hand gripping him firm, fingers and thumb splayed across the flimsy material of his sleep t-shirt. 

“First Chimera?” Connor arched a brow at him as Theo kept moving closer to him. “What are you doing?”

“Looking at you,” Theo muttered, his lips parted slightly. “I’m just remembering what you looked like the day before yesterday, all that blood splattered all across your skin, your face, streams of fresh and bright red, old and dried crimson, just so _perfect_ …”

Connor didn’t reply, feeling Theo’s hand inch closer to his neck, thumb tapping the edge of his bare skin in a way that was close to how the Alpha Chimera used to. He blinked suddenly, and his arm shot out, hand grasping Theo’s forearm. “What are you really doing here?”

“Isn’t it obvious?” Theo’s eyes searched his own, and Connor let crimson red heat the orbs instead of the passive purple from the Emperor’s nearby presence. The First Chimera's heartbeat hitched a little higher and he continued to speak. “You always wear the blood from battle with a warrior's pride, but Stiles, he always washes his off at once, not realizing the treasure he was holding. I know, I know, I spoke his name, but c’mon, Connor, we both know the truth, and you’re practically the same: brothers at least.”

“You…” Connor glared at him, feel rage sweep through his core. “That is almost heres-” He was cut off as Theo moved forward aggressively, pressing his lips against Connor’s, the Guardian Prime clenching his teeth shut, unmoving, unresponsive until the First Chimera pulled back from him with a small shake of his head.

“This is the part where you kiss me back.”

Connor gripped his arm tighter and unleashed his claws in his other hand, growling at Theo. "Step away or I will tear you in half."

"How do you know that's not what I really want?" Theo smirked, eying his face again with the same hungry stare. "I don't care if it's my blood dripping off you, as long as I get to…huh."

The Guardian Prime released him and stepped back, breathing hard as Theo stood where he was, with one hand in the air and a smirk on his face. “Get out.”

 

“Guardian Prime?”

Connor looked up as his title was being called out, seeing a messenger standing nearby. He nodded, letting the memories fade, and gesturing for the other chimera to approach. “Yes?”

“Corrupted attack outside _Glória do Imperador_ , Archon Jackson is responding, but he would like your tactical assistance in dealing with the threat.”

“Isn’t the Dragon still there?” Connor stood up, following the messenger back towards the Palace, his thoughts moving swiftly away from Theo and his games. “Get me the status of the Chimera Army units stationed in that city, I need to know what resources we’re going to have at our disposal.”

 

Stiles nodded his thanks to Theo as the other chimera brought the tray of juice towards where he and Corey were sitting out on the balcony, the midday sun filling the enclosed space with heat and light. He took the offered glass and looked at Corey, the younger chimera tempting Growler with a dish of water, his still-growing puppy sitting beneath the chair in the shade. “How’s he doing?”

“Fine, he was safe under the bed, just like I thought he’d be.” Corey grinned happily at them and stroked Growler’s head. “I didn’t expect that we’d be too badly affected by the blast wave anyway, not with the chimeras containing it and pushing the fallout out to sea. Plus, didn’t you say that the Palace can withstand a direct hit?”

“Yeah, thanks to a little terrakinetic trick I used to harden the building materials after the ziggurat was completed.” Stiles smirked and flexed his biceps jokingly, the three of them clad only in boardshorts under the baking heat of the sun. “Raawr!”

“Why don’t you save the battle cries for the actual battles?” Theo laughed at him, slipping his sunglasses on again, seeing Stiles’ eyes glow, even behind the darkened lenses. “I’m just saying that you need to recover your energy after what, um, what happened a few days ago.”

“Right.” Stiles sobered up, nodding. “I heard that Connor took control, he did…what needed to be done.”

“You can’t be angry at him for throwing Scott in jail, can you?”

“No, Theo, it’s just, I had hoped Scott wouldn’t choose that path, that we had convinced him that the world had changed, that my dreams of glorious unity would be real enough for him to let go of the past.” Stiles shrugged. “Though, I suppose it finally demonstrated that Liam is fully on our side; protecting the innocent chimeras, trying to get Scott to turn from his dark path, that was expected, but for the former werewolf to be so committed to our cause as to try and get Scott to see it…hmm, perhaps it would have been a good idea to pair Scott off with a charming chimera of his own, and she would have convinced him to remain allied with us.”

“We tried the ally route, before, remember?” Theo sipped his juice. “It didn’t work then, there wasn’t a hope now, especially with everything that we’ve done to realize the glory of our Empire. Scott would never have accepted that; he couldn’t even kill his own enemies when he was the True Alpha, and after he was converted, Scott still left all the killing to the chimera squad we sent with him.”

“Hmm, you have a point.” Stiles shrugged. “But it’s dealt with, and the attack, while costly, has united the Empire like never before: the werewolf threat has been eliminated, the rebels destroyed, and only the Harvester left to threaten our people.”

“Sounds like you have a plan to deal with that.” Corey said, looking over at him. “Which would be good, since I keep getting alerts telling me about new Corrupted holes-”

“We’re not calling them that!” Theo laughed, shaking his head and scrunching up his nose in disgust. 

“Err, holes of the Corrupted?”

“That’s even worse!”

“Um, Corruption breaches?” He suggested, his cheeks flushing a darker red than the heat from the sun was causing. “I don’t know, come up with your own name, Theo! The point is that we need to do something.”

“I know.” Stiles nodded, motioning for Theo to lean back into his chair and not antagonize Corey any further. “And I do have a plan.”

“Of course you have a plan.” Theo muttered. “Just surprised it’s not a super-secret one!”

“I’m telling you now.” Stiles shrugged, ignoring his tone. “We need to go back to the Hellscape, speak to the Maw again; I’m going to use it as a prison, just like it was intended to be. We’ll attack the Harvester’s city and drive it towards a trap that will bring the monster down into the Hellscape. It’s going to take a lot of power, energy, I mean, and the Maw will need to agree, but I have an idea that might sweeten the pot if it’s resistant.”

“That seems like it might work.” Theo nodded. “This thing came from the Nemeton, or was trapped inside it, are we going to have to find another to bring the energy of the Maw through?”

“I was thinking that,” Stiles sighed. “The original ritual that started all this took place on top of a Nemeton and I used the Rod to channel the souls of the Ghost Riders through the tree, shattering the stump in the process. So, if we do the same, except this time we use a full Nemeton and have the Maw’s co-operation, then we might be able to pull it off.”

“That’s a lot of moving parts though.” Corey frowned, draining his glass. “I assume you’re going to bring Connor in on this?”

“Naturally.”

“Good, he’s got a sharp mind.” The younger chimera glanced at Theo, seeing the way he was nodding slowly. “Actually, guys, there is something else I wanted to talk to you about. I was going to tell you just before the rebel attack started; it’s, um, it’s about us.”

“I think I know where this is going,” Stiles smiled at him, “It’s ok, Corey, I think Theo and I both understand why you want to end the, err, triad relationship we have.”

“I still want to be friends!”

“I know,” Theo grinned at him and patted Corey’s arm affectionately. “And we still will be, doesn’t matter who else is around, you’re still the chimera who was with us from the very beginning, no one is going to replace you, Corey.”

“Ok.” He smiled a little and looked over at Stiles, “Are you sure you’re ok with this?”

“When you love something, let it go free!” The Emperor grinned. “Not that I’m expecting you to come back to us at some point, but you deserve someone who has more time to care about you, than either of us who have an Empire to run.”

“Thanks, I think.” Corey’s brows furrowed, and he looked down as Growler stood up with a stretch and shook his head. “Sorry, puppy, it’s too hot for you to go for a walk today!”

“Take him along the underground corridors by the labs,” Theo suggested. “It leads out into the gardens, and they’re always a lot cooler than the walk you take along the Path of Legends.”

“Oh, good idea, Theo!”

“See? We’re still friends, even if we’re not sleeping together!” The First Chimera grinned. 

“Speaking of not sleeping,” Stiles began as Corey pulled his shirt back on and waved goodbye to them, Growler trotting along beside them. “Connor told me what you did yesterday, Theo.”

“What?” He stared at Stiles. “Why would he tell you about that?”

“Because my Guardian Prime will always tell me the truth, no matter how uncomfortable it may be.” Stiles steepled his fingers and smirked at him. “I have no problems with you speaking to him, even if it’s about your blood-fuelled fantasies, he wasn’t exactly keen on you touching him though, and if you ever kiss him again without his consent, his serrated claws will be the least of your worries.” 

“I understand.” Theo nodded seriously, watching a crackle of electricity dance across Stiles’ fingers, his scent dangerously close to anger. “I guess this means you’re back to liking him again?”

“I never stopped,” The Emperor earthed the electricity in himself and tilted his head towards the sky. “I just kept it quiet since he rebuffed me, I certainly didn’t expect you to do a sudden one-eighty on your attitude to him though.”

“Well, I always thought he looked good covered in blood,” Theo shrugged, smirking as Stiles’ lips twitched. “Plus, there’s something about the aggressive tension we’ve got between us, I mean, it’s not like the sexual tension you two have, err, had?”

“Still have, I think.”

“Right, well, do you, do you think he’d ever…”

“The Hellscape would have to freeze over first.” Stiles replied drily. “At least for him to do so willingly and not under command, the Guardian Prime believes in the Imperial hierarchy in the same way he believes that I am a god, and he’s managed to spread that belief all through the Empire, more chimeras and humans flocking to his Church every day.”

“Well, I guess that’s the merits of the Purple Serum, huh?” Theo grinned and reached for the tanning oil, “Maybe in a few centuries, he’ll have warmed up to the idea of kissing me back!” 

 

“The Imperial Council is now formally called to order,” The Guardian Prime stood next to Stiles as he spoke. “This Special Sitting is to re-establish the primacy of the Alpha Chimera as Supreme Chimera Emperor under the provisions of Edict One-Thirty-Five as passed by this Council.”

“We recognize the Prophet of the Emperor.” Greenberg nodded and turned to Stiles, “And You, Alpha Chimera.”

“Thank you,” Stiles exchanged a grin with Theo, seeing the chimera roll his eyes at the exaggerated pomp and ceremony. “You may procced, Connor.”

“Yes, master.” Connor knelt down on one knee, his head bowed but words audible. “As Guardian Prime and Prophet of the Emperor, I release the temporary control of our glorious Empire granted to me under Imperial law, and return it to Your rightful hands, oh great and powerful Alpha Chimera.”

“So it is said, so shall it be.” Greenberg intoned behind them. “Rise, Guardian Prime.” 

Connor nodded at the Minister for Chimera Enlightenment and spared a glance for Theo, all of them bowing at the same time to Stiles. “All glory and honor to You, Supreme Chimera Emperor, may You rule forever.”

“Thank you,” Stiles grinned and took his place on the ornately carved chair at the head of the table. “You may be seated.”

“I thought that was it?” Theo hissed at him, but Stiles just smiled wider as Connor moved to stand behind him.

“I want to know what has been going on in my absence and see what actions have been taken to address the suffering and damage caused by the traitor, whose name is once again outlawed.” Stiles nodded as Greenberg began speaking, feeling the reassuring presence of his Guardian Prime behind him, Theo’s restless energy on his left, and the sensation that at last, all his plans were coming to fruition. 

_Once the Harvester has been put back into the ground, we can finally start our true rise to power. As if Connor doesn’t have enough to be doing, he and Marric have been tossing around ideas for our chimera space ships; ambitious designs, but before the decade is out, we will have a Moon-base and a Mars-base!_ He looked up as the sound of Greenberg’s voice petered out. “Yes, very good. Now tell me about the movements of the Chimera Army, I want to have as much of our armed forces in position before we launch our attack on the Harvester’s city.”

 

“Theo said it would be cooler, but I can’t tell the difference.” Corey complained as he and Garrett walked through the sprawling maze of gardens and secluded pools, Growler running out the lead in front of them, sticking his nose everywhere and peeing up against all the trees. “I think he’s the only dog here, why does he do that?”

“Oh, I think some of the other Palace Guard have been allowed to get pets, especially the ones who are getting married, trying to start a family.” Garrett replied, taking the lead from Corey as the younger chimera stopped to pull off his t-shirt. “Too hot?”

“Are you complaining?”

“Never!” The Löwenmensch grinned and threw one arm around Corey’s bare shoulders, his own chest was covered by a loose vest, the air able to get through the sides in the same way as Corey’s gaze could see Garrett’s muscular body with every glance. “How are things up top, anyway?”

“With Stiles and Theo?” Corey shrugged, biting his lip. “I, um, I told them about my decision, that I want to be with you again, and they seemed to be expecting it. I think it’s the right decision though, what with Theo getting all…blood-obsessed over Connor.”

“I’m surprised the Emperor is allowing that,” Garrett nodded at a nearby entrance to one of the private swimming pools, steering them towards it. “He’s very protective of his Guardian Prime; I learned that the hard way.”

“Haha, yeah, you did!” Corey laughed, shaking his head. “You should consider yourself really lucky that you’re a natural chimera, otherwise Connor would have ripped you apart!”

“Yes, in a very literal sense.” Garrett shuddered at the thought. “I’ve seen him do that before. I know there are many dangerous chimeras, but I still think he’s the most lethal.”

“Better not let Theo hear you say that.” Corey sniggered, releasing Growler from his lead when Garrett closed the wicker gate behind them.

“He’ll get jealous?”

“He’ll get a boner!”

“Corey!” Garrett groaned at him, before bursting into laughter. “Hey, you want to go swimming? We’ll dry off in minutes under this sun.”

“Sure,” He unbuckled his shorts and pulled them and his trunks down in one go, standing in front of Garrett naked. “C’mon, there’s only us here!”

“Alright, but, uh, it’s been, err, seventy years since I last went skinny dipping!” Garrett smirked as Corey rolled his eyes. “Better get used to that, Corey, soon, we’ll all be talking about things in terms of _centuries!_ ”

“Shut up and get in!” 

 

Connor paused over the front gate with the Emperor, looking out between the battlements and the towering statues at the port in the far distance. The sky still had a strange hue to it, but the clouds were kept pushed out to sea by the air Elemental chimeras. “The fallout has mostly dissipated, master, and the radioactivity on the ground is down to about one percent, which is tolerable for our chimeras.”

“You have done well.”

“Thank You, master.” Connor bowed his head when the Emperor glanced his way. “The pier itself has been mostly destroyed and the USS Iowa has sunk into the harbour, but we believe it’s intact, if You wish to bring it back up as a reminder of the world that we have conquered.”

“Perhaps,” The Emperor dismissed the question with a wave. “We have more pressing concerns. I am very impressed with how you’ve handled the affairs of state these last few days and held off the Harvester’s attacks. Soon we will deal with that monster, have no fear.”

“I never do, Emperor.” Connor began walking the ramparts again when his master gestured for them to continue. “But the Harvester will change tactics again, I am almost certain of it; we’ve been pushing it into a box in the Amazon, but what if it realizes there are vast stretches of the world where no one lives, where the Empire rules only because there is nothing left to oppose us?”

“I understand your fears, Connor.” The Chimera Emperor stopped and smiled at him again, the same familiar grin that he was used to, the same tilt of His eyes across Connor’s face and neck. “We’re going into the Hellscape shortly, this evening, probably; you, me, Corey, Theo. We will speak to the Maw, and we will make it see that a trap is the only way to get the Harvester to the Hellscape. Within a week, two at most, we will be free of the monster.”

“As You command, Emperor.”

“Hmm,” He started walking again, turning back towards the towering ziggurat, the strong afternoon sun shining off its polished sides. “It’s good to have you back at my side, where you belong, feels like how it used to.”

“Yes, master.”

“And I’m glad that you assumed control of the Empire when you did, Scott’s betrayal was…unexpected.” The Emperor sighed, shaking His head slowly. “To have fooled so many chimeras, to have betrayed me and everything we had offered him, not to mention all my loyal and innocent subjects who were slaughtered by his recklessness, I wasn’t able to act. It was overwhelming.” 

Connor nodded, watching the way the Alpha Chimera’s eyes had fixed in the distance, His brows furrowed. “I did what I thought was in the best interests of the Empire, master.”

“Yes, I know,” His lips twitched for a moment, gaze still locked away, His next words whispered. “Even if you weren’t my brother, even if we were just friends, I would want you to do it again. The Empire would look very different if Theo was in command. He does not know how to rule, only how to use.”

“As You say, Emperor.” Connor fell into silence along side his master, both of them staring out at where the bomb had detonated. 

 

Theo nodded at the Guardians and waited for them to step aside, opening the door into the non-descript apartment. He stood in the middle of the living room and folded his arms. “I know you’re here, and I’ve come with an offer.”

“What do you want?” Ghost emerged in front of him, the assassin’s suspicious expression matching her voice. “Or are you here to finally kill me?”

“Hardly.” Theo sat down on the couch. “We never kill what we can use again, part of the reason why Stiles kept you alive and, in the jungle, I imagine.”

Ghost arched a brow at his informal use of the Emperor’s name, “So, First Chimera, why are you here?”

“We need intel, specifically about the Harvester’s city; satellites can only give us so much and it shoots down any flying chimeras or drones that we send over.” Theo nodded at her. “We need you, Ghost, to infiltrate the city, find out what the Harvester’s plans are, how far along it is, and ultimately the defenses are like.”

“Is that all? Why don’t I just kill it for you too?” She scowled at him. “Will I be getting any support?”

“It’s mostly a solo operation, whatever we can rig up for communications, Chimera Intelligence will discuss that with you.” Theo explained. “But you work better alone; I’ve read your file, mission reports, the chimera surgery report. So, I know that you’re basically a weaponized version of Corey: you can go invisible, have added durability and strength, and some extremely sharp claws that have afforded you the high kill count you enjoy.”

“I do work better alone,” Ghost admitted. “But attacking the Harvester’s city? That seems suicidal.”

“You’re _infiltrating,_ not attacking.” Theo stood up, shrugging. “Besides, this is the only offer on the table, the Guardian Prime has the power to declare you a heretic and then you die. So, are you coming?”

“Fine.” Ghost glared at him and flounced out as he grinned.

“Great.”

 

“Emperor.”

“Please, Commander Parrish, stand up.” Stiles dismissed the Guardians behind him with a wave of his hand and waited for the Hellhound to get back to his feet from where he was kneeling. His face was drawn, shadows under his eyes, and his skin paler than normal, but Parrish still had the fire in his gaze.

“Sit, Emperor.”

“Thank you.” Stiles sat on the couch and gestured for the chimera to sit opposite him. “It’s a stupid question to ask in the face of all that has happened, I know, but, how are you?”

“I’m coping, Emperor, I’m…glad that there is so much to be done and I can be distracted.”

“Yes, I can only imagine,” Stiles sighed. “When Theo was thrust into the Hellscape, I thought I had lost him, so I understand a little of what you might be going through.”

“I saw him die in front of me,” The Hellhound muttered, his eyes purple and bright, boring into the floor. “The explosion happened so quickly, one minute we were checking out a lost crate, the next…all I saw was Aaron, his face, there one second, nothing but ash the next, and then the rest is lost in blazing heat and fire.”

“There are very few chimeras who could have survived that, I’m sorry that Strauss wasn’t one of them.” The Chimera Emperor reached out and grasped Parrish’s hand in support. “We will always remember him, Jordan, he was the first new chimera Theo and I ever created; the start of our army. So, we’ll name a space ship after him.”

“A planet.”

“A planet.” Stiles agreed with a grin. “That’s a great idea.”

“I heard what the Guardian Prime is doing,” Parrish’s gaze broke and he glanced at Stiles. “In the holy cathedral; he announced that he’s putting aside one of the walls and inscribing the names of everyone who died in the attack; chimera, human, but not the werewolves.”

“No, the traitors and their leader will be forgotten, buried under the weight of our glorious history, and the enduring might of the Chimera Empire!” 

“And Scott?” Parrish’s jaw tightened as his eyes glistened. “Will he be brought to justice?”

“He already has been; tried, found guilty, and in the Dark Prison, awaiting a silent and painful execution.” Stiles lied, seeing Parrish nod. “No one will hear from him again, he will never see the marvels that we will, he will never be free of his guilt, and justice will be served.”

“After so many deaths, so much needless violence,” Parrish shook his head. “It’s the only way for everyone to get closure; a fresh start.”

“Hmm,” Stiles nodded in agreement. “Once again, I’m sorry.”

“We were going to get married, settle down, children perhaps, even adopt the orphaned human ones from the war.” He shrugged, half-smiling as the memories came to him. “Aaron always liked that idea, that we’d be helping them adjust to the Empire before they were eligible to become full chimeras…But, now, now that’s all gone, seared away in the fury of nuclear fire.”

“We’ll be moving out for the attack on the Harvester’s city soon, but I’ll be there for the memorial, Jordan.” Stiles stood up and moved over the pat his shoulder. “I’ve arranged for my father to be flown in, he’ll be arriving this evening, since you and Aaron were both deputies in his station, and you can talk to him, if you want.”

“Thank you, Emperor.” 

 

Liam stared at the muted TV screen, reading the scrolling ticker at the bottom as fresh reports were handed to the news team, and the casualty count moved ever higher. “Fatalities past ten thousand now…”

“Will you stop watching that?” Philip looked at him over the counter, the hiss and spit of frying oil behind him. “You’ve already been pardoned by the Emperor, and you did everything you could.”

“No, I didn’t.” Liam muttered. “I could’ve stopped him, I could’ve stopped all this from happening.”

“You did what you could, and you told me enough that I was able to mobilize the Guardian Prime and First Chimera.” Philip moved the pan off the heat and came around to sit next to Liam, placing an arm around his shoulders. “You have to let it go and remember that you’re a chimera, that the Empire needs you. Scott did something terrible, but he did that as his own person, not as the True Alpha, and not as _your_ Alpha.” 

“I guess.”

“Besides,” The Manticore snorted at the TV. “Why are you watching this station? They may have rebranded to the _Chimera News Network,_ but you should watch the official Imperial channel; they’ve all the numbers, grisly pictures, and werewolf blaming that you could want!”

“Hah,” Liam’s lips twitched, and he turned the TV off, lying back on the couch when his boyfriend stood up to resume cooking dinner. His expression hardened again as his gaze slipped past their messy apartment and out across the city from the wall of glass that illuminated the living room and kitchen. “The fires are out; a load of gas mains blew.”

“I heard.”

“A massive explosion caused parts of the Engineering Corp building to collapse.” Liam continued, his voice neutral even as he flicked his claws in and out. “Mason got trapped.” There was a clatter from the kitchen when Philip dropped something and rushed out towards him.

“Where? Do we? Should we go help?!”

“Oh, it’s fine,” The chimera went on in the strangely emotionless tone. “The rescue crews managed to dig him and the others out; he probably has a dozen different ideas on how to make sure something like that never affects the structural integrity of the Empire’s buildings again.”

“Liam, c’mon,” Philip pressed his lips together helplessly, “I almost have dinner ready; Hunan chicken stir-fry, your favorite. Just have something to eat; you haven’t eaten all day. And then…maybe you can shower, shave; you’re all stubbly, and I don’t like kissing you like that!”

Liam looked at him, seeing Philip’s offered grin and shook his head slowly at the weak joke. “Fine, I mean, you made it from scratch, I don’t want to add being a bad boyfriend on top of everything else.”

 

The Hellscape was just as Stiles remembered it; the same scudding clouds rushing overhead in the windless vacuum, the same fiery tang to the air, the same vast chasm that dominated everything around them, the sand at the lip of the crater burning hot under his feet. Connor was next to him, silent and stoic as ever, while Theo and Corey hung further back, no longer afraid of the Maw and its powers, but neither of them interested in going any closer. “Are you ok?”

“Fine.” Theo nodded sharply. “I just don’t like this place.”

“Understandable.” Stiles looked upwards, grinning as the bruised sky gave way to a smattering of stars above them, the many moons of the Maw’s planet coming into view. “Ah, it knows we’re here, give it a moment.”

“We’ll be speaking to the shadowy creature again, Emperor?” Connor asked him, purple gaze surveying the area around them.

“Yes, we will.” Stiles murmured, watching the great plume of black smoke pillow upwards, the shape of a featureless human emerging from the cloud. “Greetings to you, Maw!”

“And you, Chimera Emperor.” The Maw gestured grandly, purple orbs of fire appearing in the space where its eyes ought to be. “And once more to your court. Two visits in so short a time honor me.”

“Well, unfortunately, we’re here to discuss that long term containment plan, it’s hardly a social call.”

“When is it ever?” The Maw laughed, the same dry, high, cackle as before. “Sit and be in comfort.” It waved its arms and twisted stone chairs rose out of the earth beneath them, capturing Theo, Corey, and Stiles. “But not you, Guardian Prime, you will stand.”

“Fine.”

“I see it in you, you know?” The purple orbs flashed across the column of smoke to peer at him. “A fragment of the Overmind glows within you, burning with power, but you do not wield it, protecting the one who does instead. Noble of you.”

“If you say so.” Connor replied stiffly, moving to stand behind the Emperor’s seat, the fiery eyes following him back. “As my master said, we are here to talk about a way to stop the Harvester, if you’re interested?”

“Always!” The Maw turned its attention back on Stiles and the figure’s head bowed. “Speak, o’Emperor.”

“We want to bring the Harvester here, to you.” Stiles grinned, laying out his plan. “We’ll do the ritual in reverse, and I can generate enough energy to force the portal to stay open for long enough to push the Harvester through.”

“You will have to get it there, first.”

“We have a plan.” Corey spoke up, swallowing as the Maw’s attention turned to him. “We’ll get it there.”

“And once we do tip the multi-limbed horror into the Hellscape, you will keep it trapped here, yes?” Stiles arched a brow as the black smoke became tinged with red and orange. “Is that going to be a problem?”

“Hardly.” The Maw hissed, “Such a source of primordial power…I have not felt its like in eons beyond remembering. Do not worry, chimeras, I will keep your prisoner safe. But this will be no simple ritual to perform; you will need the Entrance Rod, of course, and this power you generate needs to be directed into a keystone focus, like the Nemeton.”

“There are others.” Connor said in the silence that followed. “Our research into the Overmind and its origins disproved many theories, though showed us that the world is full of secrets. We have records of Nemeton locations in the Palace, Emperor.”

“Do you know where the nearest one to that jungle city is, by any chance?” Stiles turned to look at him, frowning at Connor’s smirk. “You do?”

“Of course, many locations and factors were considered for the Archons’ cities to be founded, including their proximity to supernatural beacons that may have brought more potential chimera variants to our Empire.” The Guardian Prime gestured vaguely. “Jackson’s city isn’t built on the Nemeton, but one of the outlying forts is.”

“Huh, so that’s why you had such an active role in their selection.” Stiles shrugged. “It matters not, only as further proof that you have the best interests of the Empire at heart.”

“He is a most valuable chimera, is he not?” The Maw agreed, looking at Theo as it spoke about Connor. “When you open the portal, I will feel it and come towards the source of your breach, Emperor, and from there, all you need do is push the Harvester inside. The remains of its ooze on your world will shrivel and die once their connection is severed.”

“Oh, yeah, that doesn’t sound _too_ hard, huh, guys?!” Theo sighed. “It will take a lot of work to get that monster into position; we need to get it to come to us.”

“Attacking its city will force the Harvester to move, and as long as we funnel it along a corridor of our choosing, it will arrive at where we need it to be.” Stiles said, “But before we get too far ahead of ourselves, how can I be sure that trapping the Harvester inside the Hellscape will actually serve my long-term interests?”

“You are asking about trust?” The Maw paused, and the plume of smoke thickened briefly, before subsiding again. “There is another entity that I have imprisoned in my depths; long ago, the druids sought a cage to hold it and found me. It is known as the anuk ite: an ancient shape shifter who creates, manipulates, and feeds on fear.”

“Connor?”

“Marric would know better than I would, master.”

“The Dread Doctors never mentioned it.” Theo added.

“Uh, Chimera Intelligence has nothing.” Corey said, flushing when they all turned to look at him. “Just saying!”

“And you have trapped this anuk ite?” Stiles asked, looking back at the Maw.

“For thousands of years, Emperor.” The figure leaned in closer, purple orbs matching Stiles’ own gaze. “It powers the fantasies of all those who enter my realm, just like with the First Chimera over there; but you and your court are unique in that you alone are seeing my true form. I trust you and ask that you return the sentiment.”

“Very well.” Stiles stood up from the rock throne and nodded. “Do we have a deal?”

“I accept your accord.” The Maw replied, the smoke-clad figure offering him a sweeping bow. “And in return, you’ll seal my prison against access from your world?”

“Yes.” Stiles nodded, seeing Theo’s relieved expression. “We will not return to Hellscape through the portal again.” He turned and clenched his fist, re-opening the way back to the Palace, Theo and Corey rushing through. Connor lingered by the entrance. “Go, I’ll be through in a moment.”

“As You command, Emperor.”

“Something else to add?” The Maw looked at him, curiosity in its voice. “Something that your chimeras should not hear?”

“They will hear it in time.” The Emperor deflected. “But these are words I will share only with you for now. When the Harvester has been trapped and the Empire returns to its peaceful state, when my dreams of glory and expansion have been realized, when we are truly a Galactic Chimera Empire, I will find this world, this Hellscape, and I will bring you fully into our alliance, Maw. I will free you from this prison and you shall lead my armies across the stars so that they may all burn with purple fire!”

 

“We were getting worried,” Corey said as Stiles stepped back onto the smooth concrete floor of the deep bunker. “You were gone nearly two minutes!”

“Huh?”

“Theo said that time passes slowly inside, remember?” Corey pulled him away from the doors as Connor shut them across the shimmering blue portal. “Are you ok?”

“I’m fine, I just needed to clear something up with the Maw.” Stiles replied, grinning at him. _A plan that will take centuries to come to fruition, but it's never too early to start planning for universal glory!_ “Are you guys alright? All clear on the plan?”

“We already have Chimera Army units in position around the Harvester’s city,” Connor said, dusting the sand from the Hellscape off his armor. “We’ll need more, the Guardian of the Ancient World will be a useful battering ram, but we don’t really know anything about the city itself.”

“I took care of that,” Theo looked at him. “I set Ghost free and she agreed to infiltrate the city, see what she can find out. You should expect an angry phone call, Corey.”

“Thanks.” The younger chimera muttered darkly. “Hey, if we’re bringing everything, I’ve got assassins too.”

“Ok,” Stiles nodded. “We’re bringing them all; Connor, I want you to organize the Faithful into two groups; one you’ll take with us, and the other you can leave with Brett, have him secure the Palace and Victory City from any more Corrupted attacks.”

“As You command, Emperor.”

“Theo, you’ll be taking control of the werewolf and were-coyote based chimeras, were-bears too.” Stiles paused, distaste twisting his lips. “That would’ve been Scott’s role, but we make do. They’ll be the melee units, you’ll be right up in the front. Can you handle that?”

“Of course.” Theo grinned.

“Corey, you’re running Chimera Intelligence from _Glória do Imperador,_ Jackson will find you a space.” Stiles grinned at them. “I, of course, will be leading from the thick of things along with the Guardians. The Generals have been working on detailed strike plans and we’ll know more in a few days when we join them in the Archon’s city.”

“All well and good, Emperor.” Theo held Connor’s gaze for a moment before dropping it. “But we need to talk about the deal you made with the Maw; I’m not sure we can trust it; it’s clearly serving its own interests.”

“Perhaps,” Connor interjected quickly. “But it is not as though we have another choice, the Harvester must be contained, and this is the quickest way to do it.”

“Quickest isn’t always best!”

“Really?” The Guardian Prime smirked. “I thought that was how you liked to do things, Theo? Fast and hard and damn the consequences!”

“What does that mean?” Theo growled, moving closer to him, but unlike the last time he was so close to Connor, the chimera had his armor on, forcing Theo to look up.

“Need I remind you of the things you did in the Fount of Glory?” 

“That’s over with.” 

“For now, maybe.” Connor shrugged, smelling the fury pouring off Theo. “But how long until you start back up? Hmm, what happens when we go off-planet and begin settling other worlds, other places for you to hide your secrets in?”

“Haha,” Theo laughed darkly. “I think that would happen right around the time-”

“Enough!” Stiles shouted out, eyes blazing with purple fire as he forced the two chimeras apart, smelling the controlled distain from Connor and the aroused aggression from Theo. “Flirt on your own time, First Chimera, the deal is made.”

Theo released an irritated huff and turned away, stalking towards the elevator. He paused, glanced over his shoulder at Connor, and then continued walking. “Whatever.” 

 

Liam avoided the stares of the chimeras around him and gripped Philip’s hand a little tighter as they made their way into the gardens behind the Imperial Palace, the cool shade offered little relief for the werewolf chimera. “They’re all looking at me! I knew this was a mistake!”

“Relax,” Philip whispered, taking him into the maze almost immediately. “It’s dinner time, most of them will be inside eating, and the ones who are left outside don’t want to be disturbed.”

“I suppose.” Liam took a deep breath once they entered the tall, green hedges of the maze, the sound of the fortress beyond them quietened. “This is cool.”

“Yeah, the Faithful built it.” Philip explained, taking a deliberate route away from the center. “It’s got all these little enclosed areas and pods and stuff. It’s meant for reflection and prayer to the chimera god-”

“The Emperor.”

“Right, but it’s a good place to come just to think or relax, if you want fresh air but no noise or people to disturb you.” Philip nodded as he stopped, pulling back a long, cotton curtain to show Liam a semi-circular seat built out from the hedgerow, padded and arrayed with bright cushions and throws. “See?”

“That looks pretty nice, ok.” Liam shrugged, sitting down next to him. Silence filled the space for a few minutes as he tapped his feet on the grass and felt Philip push into him. “So, we gonna talk?”

“Not if you don’t want to.”

“There was nothing I could have done.” Liam paused, the words sounding hollow to him. “But I should have tried, I should have stopped Scott as soon as I saw him in the storm tunnels. Or listened to you and alerted Theo and Connor, but I’ve watched the news reports over and over and they all agree that it was a simultaneous strike.”

“You were there, Liam.” Philip reminded him gently, looking at the older chimera. “You left our apartment, and barely fifteen minutes later there was a nuclear fireball engulfing the pier, no way you could have stopped Scott’s bomb.”

“I still have the guilt though.”

“That just shows you really are part of the Empire.” Philip kissed his cheek. “That you care about other chimeras, that you want to see us succeed.”

“The alterative would be chaos, I told Scott that!” Liam growled. “Not now, when we were convincing him that he had to be on our side; that maybe he’d bring down the Emperor himself, but the world would completely collapse without the sense of power and authority the Alpha Chimera brings.”

Philip nodded silently and pulled Liam against his chest, “I know, it’s ok.”

“It will be.” Liam whispered, feeling tears prick at his eyes. “It has to be…”

 

“The world always looks so much better from up here, doesn’t it, Connor?”

“Yes, master.” The Guardian Prime nodded, standing next to the Emperor on the roof of the Palace, the night sky spread out above them like a tapestry of diamonds, glittering down on Victory City. “No war, no death, only the future.”

“You really love outer space, don’t you?” The Emperor grinned at him. 

“Yes, Stiles,” Connor mumbled the name even as his master grinned wider. “So many mysteries, unknown worlds; teeming with new life, or ripe for expansion. I always wanted to be an astronaut, I guess most kids do, but I had plans, knew how I’d get there.”

“I’ll make sure you’re on the first flight out!” He patted an armored shoulder and tilted His head back. “The battle that is coming will be brutal, the Harvester has barely shown any of its real abilities, and I’m worried about those tunnels it dug into the earth, if they made it past the crust, if it’s been feeding on the interior of the planet.”

“Surely You will know once we break the city, master; You can feel the disturbances in the ground?”

“Perhaps, yes.” The Emperor nodded and flashed him a grin. “You clearly think my plan will work?”

“Of course.”

“No doubts?”

“Never, Emperor.” Connor stood up straighter as his master exhaled slowly. “But the First Chimera…”

“Leave Theo to me, he’ll come around, he always does.” The Emperor replied. “Besides, that wasn’t him getting angry, that was him trying to bait a response from you. He wasn’t happy that you bit back!”

“Hmm.”

“Speaking of,” The Emperor was looking at him and Connor turned to look at the Alpha Chimera, a questioning look on his face. “I’m concerned that Theo might be stepping over some boundaries, you’d tell me if he was making you uncomfortable?”

“I can handle it, master.” Connor replied quickly. “And if needs be, I can take him down, but it won’t come to that.”

“Perhaps that’s what Theo is after?”

“Perhaps, but he is the First Chimera, second only to You, Emperor.” The Guardian Prime shrugged. “I would not hurt him unless it was on Your command.”

“I know.” The Emperor smirked suddenly, looking behind them as the Guardians turned to the doorway. “That's him now, I’m curious what he has to say.”

“Why?”

“He went from jealous to lustful in one move,” The Alpha Chimera frowned at Connor. “I don’t like that, and I don’t like the fact that he got to kiss you either!”

“I serve only the Emperor.” Connor responded emotionlessly, “And if You recall, master, _he_ kissed me.”

“Indeed.” The Emperor waited for Theo to move through the Guardians and stand on His other side. “Theo?”

“Emperor, Guardian Prime.” The First Chimera gave them both a short bow, his eyes locking onto Connor’s. “I wanted to apologize for earlier.”

“Really?”

“Noted.” Connor said, hearing the surprise in his master’s voice. “I’m sure we can move on as though nothing happened.”

“I’d like that.” Theo muttered, pulling his eyes away. “After all, we have centuries to get to know each other properly, Connor.”


	10. The Mustering

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The following chapter contains explicit sexual content without the use of protection, please play safe in real life!

Stiles looked up at the nose of the massive airplane, Chimera Force One was parked on the runway outside the capital, awaiting the rest of its Imperial cargo. Theo paced restlessly beside him, eager to get into the fight from the scent that Stiles was able to pick up. Even though it had been years since he needed to do so regularly, Theo still concealed or manipulated his scent; almost as though it was more a habit than for any tactical gain. _But I know how to read you, Theo, and lust for battle isn’t anything new._ “You know that the only blood that’s going to be shed in this war is by our forces, right?”

“Yeah, the Corrupted only seem to bleed that black goop.” Theo nodded, glancing at him. “But blood is blood, Stiles, I’ll take it wherever it comes from.”

“Hmm.” The Emperor grunted, walking around the plane towards the long flight of wheeled steps that had been moved up to the door. “The others should be here in the next twenty minutes or so; Corey and Garrett are supervising the transfer of equipment and the human loyalists to the other cargo planes.”

“I saw that.” Theo looked out across the airport, the aprons and landing pads were occupied by whatever flying chimeras and aircraft the Empire had left. There were hundreds of the winged chimeras already in the air, soaring in formation out of the city and towards _Glória do Imperador_ , while the rest stretched their wings and waited for clearance to take off. “You’re bringing everyone, huh?”

“This is likely to be the last major battle for some time,” Stiles smirked at him. “I want everyone to see the might of our Empire and demonstrate to the Harvester that I alone am the Supreme Ruler of Earth!”

“Right.” The First Chimera nodded, turning to look at the tall spires of the Cathedral of Unity, Connor’s new name for the headquarters of the Church of the Emperor in Ascendence, other churches having been built across the Empire. “And the others? Where are they?”

“You mean Connor?”

“Sure.” Theo shrugged as though it didn’t matter but Stiles smirked anyway.

“He’s finishing the last interment service for the victims of the atomic attack; they’re being placed in a crypt under the church, well, whoever had a body to get buried.” Stiles’ expression darkened as he thought about Scott’s second betrayal and the devastation it had caused. But the moment passed, and the Emperor glanced at Theo, the other chimera still looking towards the city. “And Connor will be joining us then, he wants to link up with the Generals already in place in Jackson’s city and finalize war planning.”

“You sound like you don’t approve?”

“I think it’s a lot of effort to go to, even though we’re going to win.”

“How can you be so sure?” Theo frowned, shaking his head slightly as the next battalion of chimeras took to the air, guiding one of the C-17s out of the airport. “We don’t know enough about the Harvester’s motivations or what it can do. I mean, we know that it wants to eat the world, so that’s good, but-”

“Relax, Theo.” Stiles waved away his concerns, sitting on a step on the stairs, the Guardians around them moving slightly closer to keep him in their line of sight. “After everything we’ve been through; the enemies we’ve killed, the nations we’ve destroyed, the monsters we’ve vanquished, one ancient, failed chimera isn’t going to stop us, no matter the price we have to pay in blood and treasure.”

“Failed chimera…” Theo repeated, staring at the ground. “I still can’t believe that the Pathologist was really that old, that he knew you, or, well, I mean, he knew the Overmind; maybe he was the one who made it or found it in the first place?”

“Perhaps, it still doesn’t matter,” Stiles shrugged. “The Harvester is nothing but an inconvenience.”

“It’s a monster that _eats_ planets!” Theo stared at him, “How is that not something to worry about?”

“Because we are the _better_ chimeras, Theo.” Stiles grinned, gesturing at the army around them. “Our forces will be victorious, because they are always victorious! Nothing will stand in our way to glory and-”

“The expansion of our Empire across the stars, yeah, I’ve heard that one before.” The First Chimera broke in as his boyfriend frowned at him, irritated. “You should not dismiss the Harvester so quickly, Stiles.”

“Haha,” The Emperor laughed and stood up. “You’ve been spending so much time around Connor, Theo, that you’re starting to sound like him! All you had to do was end that sentence with ‘master’ and it would be complete!”

“I’m not gonna call you that.” Theo scowled, scuffing the toe of his boot on the asphalt as he sighed. “Why doesn’t he like me, Stiles?”

“Uh…” Stiles stared at him. _Seriously?_ “Well, I mean, let’s start with the fact that up to about a week ago, you’d always call me by my name in front of him; he sees that as a sign of disrespect, secondly, he doesn’t like the way you fight, says that you always strike to maximise blood loss instead of killing the enemy cleanly and efficiently. Then there was that whole Rhino’s Horn mission, and the culture that you developed there, as well as what Connor saw as you setting up your own power base to oppose me, and-”

“Alright, alright.” Theo interrupted with a grumble. “I get it.”

“Plus, you have to remember that Connor isn’t really friends with anyone; his duty always comes first.” Stiles paused, thinking before he nodded. “I suppose he does have a special relationship with Marric since they worked on finding the second Overmind together and are quite alike in many things.”

“They do look quite like each other,” Theo grunted. “How old is that guy anyway? Connor called him a ‘savant’ right?”

“I think he was being complementary, the kid is a genius; speaks thirty languages, half of them from the pre-Christian era, he’s an expert in Ancient Egypt, and now is working on figuring out the best way to travel through space.” Stiles smirked. “And Marric is _just_ sixteen, fourteen when he became a chimera, and I said that they’re friends, Theo, not anything else.”

“Hmm.” The First Chimera’s expression was still sour, before lightening when he spotted the Guardian Prime emerging from the terminal building, surrounded by a group of oddly dressed chimeras. Unlike the Faithful who often wore no shirt, but had the Imperial Sigil painted on their chests, these men and women were dressed in a more ceremonial style; purple-edged cloth pauldrons covering their shoulders, attached with a strip of inscribed leather to a short, pleated skirt in the style of the Ancient chimeras, their bare torsos tattooed with the circle and three lines of the Emperor’s sign, while other areas of their skin seemed to be covered in lines of text. “Who the hell are they?”

“The Exarchs,” Stiles answered, moving to stand next to Theo. “Connor formally appointed them yesterday, gave them power and influence to spread the chimera religion across the world. But they’ve been consolidating their strength for a while now.”

“Priests?”

“Not just priests, no.” The Emperor replied, the pride in his voice making Theo quirk a brow at him. “They’re the leaders of the Faithful’s armies, specially chosen because of their skills at whipping the chimeras and humans into frenzies of devotion and bloodlust; zealotry that can be channelled into attacking the Corrupted and destroying the Harvester’s city.”

“If you say so.” Theo muttered, watching Connor dispatching them to the other transports and then turning towards him and Stiles. “He’s coming over.”

“Good, must be time to leave.”

“Greetings, First Chimera.” The Guardian Prime bowed shortly at Theo, and then knelt in front of Stiles. “Glory to You, Chimera Emperor.”

“Connor?”

“All forces are accounted for, Emperor, the remainder will follow us over the next twenty-four hours.”

“Thank you, Connor, you may rise.” Stiles gestured for him to stand and smirked at Theo, “Let’s go.”

“After you, Connor.” Theo allowed him to go in front and followed the other two up the steps, careful not to tread on the Guardian Prime’s trailing, red cloak.

 

“Hmm,” Corey frowned, watching the digital representation of the Harvester’s city appear on the big screen in the conference room. “It’s almost through rendering; this new 3D tech is awesome!”

“Good.” Stiles nodded, glancing at Theo next to him. “And you’re sure Ghost has enough support to get the intel out?”

“Chimera Intelligence gave her a tech team.” Corey answered for him. “This map and the simulation are based on satellite imagery, what we’ve been able to piece together from scouting, and the limited information Ghost has been able to send back to us.”

“Hmm.” Connor grunted, not hiding his irritation. “You should have considered that Ghost cannot be trusted, First Chimera, she always operates for herself before the mission.”

“She’s a good assassin,” Stiles nodded in agreement. “But Connor’s right, she wouldn’t have been my choice for an infiltration mission.”

“Maybe,” Theo bristled defensively. “But she’s able to watch and observe unseen by the enemy, like the Watchers, but she can actually attack. I stand by my decision to send her in.”

“No one is questioning your devotion to the Empire, Theo,” Connor replied, stepping forward to adjust the zoom on the image. “Just your thought-process.”

“Ah!” Stiles glared at his boyfriend when Theo began to speak again. “We’ll discuss this later, if and when Ghost manages to make it out of the city. For now, just what exactly are we dealing with here?”

“The city has been expanding every few hours, almost organically growing in size and height.” Corey explained, gesturing at the images. “It’s circular in nature, with each section being walled off; so, every time it grows, another wall appears and the defenses increase.”

“Making it that much harder to get to the center.” Stiles nodded, pointing at the large, square-shaped box that sat in the middle of the circle. “And what’s that?”

“We don’t know, I’d venture a guess that it’s where the Harvester lives or will pull back to when we start our attack.” Corey replied, using his laser pointer to gesture at the surrounding walls. “These defensive structures seem to be more complex and thicker than the outer walls, maybe there’s some sort of bottleneck or traps there to stop our advance.”

“Wonderful,” Theo grunted, looking at the gates and battlements that dominated the city. “Well, I suppose its not as if the Corrupted need to eat or sleep or anything, so the entire thing could be one big fortress. What are those towers for, Corey?”

“These? Yeah, we don’t know.” He frowned, “They’re all over the city and even outside the walls, the scouts said that the towers released some of the goop, but we don’t know if they’re making it, or are part of the Harvester, or are another organism that it’s controlling.”

“There is some good news, however,” Connor said, glancing at them. “Given that the Harvester has devoured and flattened a large area around the city, a few dozen miles by the look of it, we’ll have the ability to field our entire army. We lose the element of surprise, but if that monster can understand fear, then we will show it the fury of the chimera war machine!”

“That does sound good,” Stiles grinned, nodding along with Theo and Corey. “Have you spoken to the Generals, yet, Connor?”

“Over the past two days, yes, Emperor.” He replied. “In a few minutes we should be able to speak directly to them; they were to gather at this time to brief you on their force composition. We have a lot of Elemental chimeras, as you might expect, and enough of the human loyalists to bring some artillery to bear on the enemy.”

“And with the Guardian of the Ancient World to break their walls, nothing will survive our assault!”

“Incoming call from _Glória do Imperador,_ ” Corey glanced at Stiles. “It’s them.”

“Put them on loudspeaker, please.” The Emperor smiled and looked at the other monitor, watching the image resolve into the large conference room that Jackson had set aside for war planning, a group of purple-eyed chimeras kneeling in front of the camera. “You may rise, my Generals.”

“Glory to You, Chimera Emperor!”

“This is the Guardian Prime,” Connor spoke up, gesturing for Theo to move aside and stepping into the frame next to Stiles, the First Chimera backing off with a scowl. “What is the status of our forces?”

“Operation Oblivion Vortex is green across the board, Guardian Prime!”

“Really?” Theo sniggered and arched a brow as they turned to look at him. “ _Oblivion Vortex?_ That must be the stupidest name I’ve ever heard for any sort of operation!”

“It was my idea.” Connor said frostily. “Given where we’re planning on sending the Harvester it seemed appropriate.”

“Oh! Well, I mean, uh, that makes sense, yeah, yeah, uh, it’s, um, it’s a good name.” The First Chimera replied hurriedly as Stiles groaned and face palmed behind Connor. Theo laughed nervously under Connor’s emotionless gaze. “Yep, pretty awesome actually! Operation Oblivion Vortex! I love it!” 

“As you say, First Chimera…” Connor turned back to the monitor as Theo sagged behind him. “Please continue, General Mikre.”

 

Liam stared out of the window, clouds scudding underneath the belly of Chimera Force One as it soared through the air, flocks of flying chimeras surrounding it as the army made their way into South America. Philip was sitting next to him, playing around with the console interface, but the rest of the Inner Pack that had flown with them were in conference with Stiles. He sighed as his thoughts turned to the approaching battle, Liam looked down at his hands, seeing images-memories-of them covered in blood and dirt and gore from all the other battlefields that he had been on, fighting for the Chimera Empire. It _was_ different now though; now that he was a chimera himself. Liam didn’t regret that decision, glancing over at Philip with a smile, not at all. “What are you doing?”

“Trying to find a movie to take your mind off things.” Philip replied, “I know you’re thinking about the fight ahead, and who we might lose and all that crap. But we still have four hours to kill, so I figured we could do something relaxing, hmm?”

“Yeah, I guess.” Liam rubbed the back of his neck. “It’s just that, well, we’ve seen the Corrupted up close, including those elite units from last time. The Emperor has only encountered them once.”

“Sure, but the Guardian Prime got captured by the Harvester itself, he would tell the Emperor everything he knows so we don’t go in there blind.” The Manticore countered. “Don’t discount the fact that the full force of the chimera and loyalist armies have been mobilised; the last time there was this many lethal units on the field was during the final battle with the United States; and they lost, big time!”

“You weren’t even there for that.” Liam frowned. “But I see your point, maybe we can do this.”

“Of course, we can do this!” Philip nodded enthusiastically. “And when the Harvester is defeated and the world fully pacified, then you can tell me what you want to do for the rest of your life. Our lives, I guess.”

“Huh?”

“You don’t want to be stuck in the Imperial Palace forever, do you?”

“Well, no, but, I don’t know where I’d be going.” Liam paused as a thought flashed across his mind. “I suppose we could go to The Retreat and live there with the Sheriff, uh, the Emperor’s father. It was where Scott was meant to end up, but maybe we should go instead and help the Sheriff build a life for all the human loyalists who are sent there too?”

“Sounds like an idea I can get behind.” Philip grinned, stretching his arms above his head. “At least for a few centuries until Earth gets boring!”

“Oh, you want the Purple Serum?”

“Yeah, of course.” He looked at Liam, realization crossing his face. “You don’t?”

“I’m not sure,” Liam placed his hand on Philip’s arm. “But hey, that’s something we can talk about later, and, well, I mean, it’s not like you’re going to get it right away and be sixteen forever, right?”

“Haha, and I thought the two-year age difference didn’t matter to you!”

“Ask me when I’m the fifty-year-old dating a sixteen-year-old looking guy!” Liam laughed and shook his head. “That’s weird to even think about, right?”

“Yeah, I guess, so, let’s not.” Philip pointed at the screen in front of them. “This one is meant to be really good; it’s part of a trilogy!”

“Uh, _The Labyrinth Courier!_ Um, sure?” 

“I heard that the Emperor personally fast-tracked Cameron Dallas’ chimera conversion in order to star in the film!” Philip spoke eagerly, grinning widely. “After He’d seen him in _The Emperor’s Glory,_ of course.”

“Uh, I’m sensing a fan,” Liam laughed, but nodded. “Sure, I’ll give it a try.” 

 

Stiles gestured for Jackson to stand as the chimera and his retinue knelt in front of him, “Rise, Archon, and tell me the latest.”

“The Harvester’s city continues to expand, Emperor,” Jackson replied, walking alongside Stiles and Connor as the group turned away from Chimera Force One, Theo following them for a moment before stepping closer to Stiles. “It has consumed several hundred square miles in the past day alone and shows no signs of stopping, heading deeper into the continent.”

“Hmm, and my forces?”

“I’ve been co-ordinating with the Generals and Exarchs to find suitable staging locations and lodgings for those staying in the city, though most have already moved out to take up positions around the Harvester’s fortress.” He gestured for them to climb into the same open-topped trucks and Jeeps as before. “The Dragon and the twins have been very helpful in keeping the Guardian of the Ancient World happy and the remaining Ancient chimeras that were left behind have been bringing it offerings.”

“That is to be expected.” Connor replied, glancing around as the convoy made its way through the streets of the Archon’s city, sidewalks packed with cheering and waving citizens. Theo had stood up and was soaking in the applause, grinning at him. “What?”

“Nothing, Guardian Prime, I do enjoy some adulation now and again, but unlike the Emperor, I don’t have time to sit through hours of worship.” Theo flexed his biceps, visible in his short-sleeved shirt and grinned wider when Connor’s eyes flicked from his face to his arms. “See something you like?!”

“Hardly.”

Corey smirked to himself, watching the two chimeras interact from the Jeep behind them as the convoy wound its way up the hill to the Archon’s Palace. He was about to call out to Theo when the Guardians behind him began speaking in hushed tones. _Huh?_

“I heard that the Emperor had to command him to come.”

“Really?” The second Guardian laughed coldly. “I’m sure Peter Hale just loved that instruction! He’s here already?”

“Yeah, arrived yesterday.” The first chimera chuckled in response. “Not that he’ll be leaving any time soon, the Emperor has something particularly important for that Archon to do.”

“Something he won’t survive, I’m guessing?”

“Haha,” The other Guardian nodded. “Exactly, the Guardian Prime and Theo both agree that he should never have been an Archon in the first place.”

“About the only thing they agree on.” 

“Not that it’s stopping the First Chimera from trying so hard, huh?” The chimera shook his head, falling silent as the vehicles stopped and they hopped out, running forward to encircle Stiles as he left the Jeep.

Corey got out after a moment of staring at the windshield. _So, the Guardians have noticed that, huh? Well, I mean, just because they’re silent and immobile most of the time doesn’t mean they don’t have eyes and ears. They’re constantly around the Emperor and Connor, and now with Theo acting like this, there’s bound to be talk, not that Theo will care, hmm._

“C’mon, Corey!” Stiles called out, waving at the younger chimera to join them as they entered the Archon’s Palace, noonday sun high overhead, the heat almost oppressive in its intensity. 

 

Corey looked up from the stack of folders that had been left for him on the circular table in the conference room, seeing Garrett approaching him. The Löwenmensch looked like he had been sucking on a lemon and sat down heavily in the chair next to Corey. “Err, hi?”

“Hey.”

“What happened?” Corey looked at him, reaching out to touch his arm. “Did you talk to them?”

“Yeah, the Generals weren’t exactly in the mood to be welcoming me back with open arms.” Garrett muttered, glaring at the group of uniformed chimeras on the other side of the large room. “They just about spoke to me, in fact.”

“Well, I mean, you did betray the Empire and turn your back on everything they believe and fought for.” Corey flinched when his boyfriend looked at him. “Um, but you’re back now, with a pardon from Stiles, and even Connor thinks you could be useful to us again, and you did hold him hostage and repeatedly kill and revive him!”

“Yeah, Corey, thanks for reminding me about all that!” Garrett groaned. “None of that helps at all.”

“Ok, so, you’ll help me.” The younger chimera nodded at him with a grin. “You’ll be the Special Advisor to the Minister for Chimera Intelligence.”

“There’s a mouthful!”

“That’s what you said last night,” Corey winked at him as Garrett flushed. “But anyway, did you get anything other than a frosty welcome from the Generals? I haven’t finished reading my briefing notes yet.”

“Uh, yeah, actually, though it’s more what I saw on the way in.” Garrett lowered his voice and bent his head closer to Corey’s. “You need to know that every major Imperial player is here: The Army have tens of thousands of troops stationed in and around the city, the Faithful are everywhere with their zealots and priests, even the scientists have arrived to help prepare the trap for the Harvester.” 

“Ok, that sounds great, most of the pieces are falling into place.” He hesitated as Garrett tilted his head. “Uh, you don’t think so?”

“No, with all the leaders of the key factions in the Empire in the one place, there’s going to be friction.” He explained. “This is exacerbated by the fact that both the military and the Faithful see Connor as their leader, while the scientists hold Theo in the highest respect. They’re all loyal, but the defeat of the Harvester will likely result in demands being made for influence, power, and resources.”

“And, what, you think there’ll be a fight?”

“Everyone saw that the Guardian Prime was the one who took control after the atomic bomb was detonated and the Emperor was unable to face the traitor.” The Löwenmensch shrugged as Corey opened his mouth to protest. “That what it _looked_ like, Corey, that’s all I’m saying. But now people are thinking that maybe Theo isn’t as strong as he used to be, that there’s more influence to be had if they side with Connor.”

“Hmm, I don’t like the sound of that.” Corey sighed, sitting back in his chair. “We already have one group of fanatics, we don’t need three separate ones.”

“You also need to remember that you won’t just be briefing Connor, you’ll be briefing him in his capacity as the Prophet of the Emperor, as in the chimera who has sole authority to declare someone or something heretical.” Garrett tapped on a folder meaningfully. 

“So, I need to call Stiles by his titles?”

“Exactly, just to be careful, Corey; don’t give them an excuse to look at you.”

“Alright,” He shrugged. “That seems a bit excessive though.”

“Maybe, but the Exarchs will be watching affairs very carefully to ensure their leader doesn’t lose any of his power.” Garrett smirked. “It’s as much the cult of Connor as it is the Emperor!”

“Now who’s risking heresy?” Corey laughed quietly, before nodding, becoming more serious. “Don’t worry, I’ll be careful, and considering how much info you just got out of watching your surroundings and talking to chimeras who don’t like you, maybe I should just recruit you into Chimera Intelligence for real!”

“Hey!” Garrett mock protested. “I thought I was your Special Advisor?!”

 

Josh dodged the blunted ice spear that was thrown his way and rolled forward on the warm sand, jumping up to push his brother off his feet with a carefully timed gust of wind. “Hah! You call that an attack?”

“I was hoping not to hurt you,” Jason complained, getting to his feet. “Aren’t we just training anyway?”

“Yeah, but you still gotta try, bro.” He stood at the edge of the beach, watching the ocean waves rolling up the shore and crashing over his feet. The twins were both shirtless, wearing only loose shorts to lessen the impact of the hot sun overhead. “Hey, could you freeze the water if you wanted to?”

“Yeah, easy.” Jason nodded, kneeling down and waiting for his brother to step back before he placed his hand in the water, both of them watching as a sheet of ice rushed out, freezing the surf as it crested into a wave. “See?”

“Wow!”

Jason stood up and let the ice recede and melt, turning to see Josh still watching it, mesmerised. He grinned and dived on his brother, pulling them both onto the sand, wrestling to stay on top of him as Josh struggled to throw him off. “Am I trying now?”

“Almost!” Josh muttered, wrapping his arms across Jason’s broad back and thrusting up into him in an attempt to flip him over. “Oh!” He exclaimed as his crotch pushed against his brother’s, one half-hard cock meeting another, both stiffening rapidly as the twins humped against each other, their training forgotten as lust took over. Jason was kissing his neck hungrily as Josh’s hands swept further down his back to push into his shorts, cupping his ass. 

“Wait, wait, wait.” Jason pushed himself up, bracing his hands on the sand by his brother’s shoulders as he looked at Josh’s flushed face. “We should hold on for Nick.”

“Aww, but he’s with the Guardian of the Ancient World, and that group of Ancient chimeras only came down twenty minutes ago,” Josh protested, gripping his brother’s ass hard and pulling the cheeks apart, making Jason groan and bit his lip. “It’ll be ages before he can have fun with us; I wanna get off now!”

“I can see that, but-”

“Hey! You two!”

They looked to the left at the same time, seeing Nick waving at them. 

“Yeah, come here, guys.” The Dragon waited for the twins to stand up, adjust their boners, and walk over. “The Emperor has returned and is requesting that all members of the Inner Pack are present for His briefing this evening. There’s a battle coming, you know, in case you missed it while you were rolling around on the sand?”

“Yeah, but, _right now?_ ” Josh whined, tugging at his hard cock through his shorts. “Can’t we just take five minutes and, you know, pound one out really hard and quick?”

“Haha,” Jason sniggered, throwing an arm around his shoulders. “Looks like all those morning and afternoon sessions of hot, dirty sex are coming to a close, bro! But, uh, you go ahead, Nick, I’ll take care of him before we head back, no point being distracted during the briefing, huh?”

“Um, I guess that makes sense.” Nick paused, his heart beating faster as he thought of the twins jerking each other off or sucking in a sixty-nine. But he glanced up at the towering statue of the Emperor above the city and unfurled his wings, nodding at them. “Just be quick, you have to brief the Guardian Prime on the status of the Ancient chimeras, and he won’t be happy if you’re an hour late and smelling of each other’s cum!”

“We’ll wash in the sea.”

“Not my point, Jason.” The Dragon snorted, his body wreathed in flames as he launched himself into the air and flew towards the Archon’s Palace.

Josh watched him go until Nick was out of sight and then turned to Jason. “You were serious about getting me off, right?!”

“Oh, yeah,” He grinned and pushed his brother back onto the sand, straddling his waist, grinding back and forth until he could feel Josh’s cock become as hard as it had been before. “Hmm, I wonder what I’ll do with this…” Jason smirked and rolled off him, untying the strings of his shorts and pulling out his brother's cock. “Maybe a few strokes, a few licks, maybe I’ll just swallow it up…”

“Do it bro!”

 

“Liam, c’mon, dude, you gotta stop pacing.” Philip called out to his boyfriend from his spot on the balcony, sitting out under the afternoon sun. “Come out here and catch some rays, it’s really nice and hot!”

“I don’t want to sit down.” Liam muttered, chewing one nail. “The attack tomorrow; there’s been a change in the command structure, the Emperor wants me to lead the converted werewolves instead of someone else, he didn’t say who that was though.”

“Ok, that’s good news, right?” Philip stood up, stretching his arms and wiping sweat from his bare chest as he walked inside to the other chimera. “That must mean He trusts you still.”

“Maybe,” Liam sighed, glancing at Philip, dressed only in a pair of tight-fitting shorts. He swallowed hard and flicked his gaze up the Manticore’s smooth, toned body to his bright, purple eyes. “Or maybe they’re going to use us for cannon fodder or a diversion or something else that’s expendable.”

“Okay, so let’s say that they do send you up the gut, right into the heart of the enemy.” He crossed his arms and shrugged. “You’ll come out of it just fine, like you always do. Besides, let’s wait and see what the plan is, Liam, maybe the Emperor will put our companies side-by-side and we can fight together, save each other’s fine asses!”

“Maybe.”

“Your heartbeat is really high, you need to relax,” Philip reached out and took Liam’s hand, gently pulling him back out to the sun-soaked balcony. “C’mon, _sit._ ”

“Fine.” Liam sat on the edge of the lounger, unbuttoning his shirt and stripping off his pants as the wave of heat hit him, leaving the chimera in just his trunks. “Happy?”

“Getting there.” Philip smirked, eyeing the half-hard bulge in Liam’s underwear. He stayed standing behind his boyfriend, massaging his shoulders and neck, before reaching down for the tanning lotion and squirting it into his hands, returning to Liam’s back, spreading the lotion across his skin. “You feeling better?”

“Not gonna lie, that’s pretty nice.” Liam purred, eyes closing as he let Philip’s hands work on his muscles. He could feel his cock getting harder and Liam spared a hand to work the top of the shaft through the fabric of his trunks. 

“I can take care of that for you too.” Philip murmured, standing closer to Liam, pushing his hands down and over Liam’s chest, across his abs and into his trunks, grasping the firm length he found within. He grinned when Liam moaned softly, and Philip began to work the thick cock up and down, pulling it out into the sunshine. “Better lotion that up too, wouldn’t want you getting burnt, huh?”

“Hah, no, I can think of only a few things worse than going into combat with sunburnt balls!” Liam laughed, leaning back and down into the lounger as Philip moved around to kneel next to him. “I guess this is your idea of a distraction, huh?”

“It only works if you don’t think of it like that!”

“I suppose I can-oooh!” Liam let out a groan when he felt his boyfriend take his cock into his mouth, the other chimera’s hot breath and wet tongue was heaven, and his eyes closed for a moment, lost in the sensation and the slurping sounds Philip was making. When Liam did look down again, he felt his balls tighten at the sight of the handsome youth’s cheeks bulging outwards. He quickly thought about the three rows of ultra-sharp teeth that were hidden in the Manticore’s mouth and the edge receded back to more pleasurable sensations as his boyfriend pulled his cock out of his mouth and licked the exposed head. “Ah!”

“Haha, almost came, huh?” Philip grinned at him. “I guess I have that effect on you!”

“Yeah, yeah, shorts off.” Liam ordered, watching lazily as he complied; Philip’s average-sized cock was fully hard, standing straight out from his smooth naval. But that wasn’t what Liam was interested in. “Turn around.”

“Uh huh.” The Manticore looked over his shoulder, smirking as Liam’s eyes locked onto his ass. “Like this?”

“You know you’ve got such a cute butt, right?” Liam said inviting Philip to straddle his waist. He grinned as the younger chimera pressed his ass against Liam’s abs and let their cocks rub together, sharing the leaking precum across their dicks. Liam wet his lips and slapped Philip’s ass gently. “Mmmh, firm buns and that smooth pucker!”

“How much foreplay can you take?” Philip grasped both their cocks and jerked them off simultaneously. “You’re leaking like crazy up here.”

“Hey, it’s been a few days, what with everything,” Liam shrugged, sliding his hands under his boyfriend’s ass and squeezing the cheeks, pulling them apart to run a finger down his crack. “Cut me some slack, and turn around again, I want to see you when I fuck you.”

“So bossy when you’re stressed!” Philip laughed, but stood up and changed position, looking at Liam as he reached down and grasped the precum-slick shaft of the older chimera, angling it towards his hole. “And before you ask, like you always do, I’m lubed up, have been all afternoon!”

“Really?” Liam frowned, concentrating on what they were speaking about, so he wouldn’t shoot immediately when he slipped into Philip’s tight ass, one time was enough for that to happen without adding to the Manticore’s ego…

“Uh, yeah! I was wearing my smallest shorts and getting sweat-slick, you said you like a, what was it? Oh yeah, a _slippery_ fuck!”

“Gonna bring that up again, huh?” Liam groaned, first in embarrassment and then in pleasure as he felt Philip’s hole slide down his shaft, his ass resting against Liam’s balls. “Oh man! Ahhh!” He moaned loudly as they started to fuck immediately, the other chimera doing all the work, bouncing up and down on his cock, all Liam had to do was grip Philip’s tapered waist and hold his orgasm in for at least a few minutes. “Fuck, you gotta clench like that?”

“C’mon, Liam, you know the first one is always fast!” Philip smirked at him, leaning forwards to kiss his lips, then pulling back to whisper against his cheek, “And don’t you always say that you get off harder when you’re fucking me through your own cum?”

“Fuck!” Liam grunted and arched his hips, thrusting deeply into Philip’s ass, his cock erupting in a torrent of cum even as he gripped the other chimera’s waist to wrench him down on his cock. “Uh! Uh! Uh! Yeah, baby!”

“Haha,” Philip chuckled, feeling his own cock twitch and jump against Liam’s abs, but he refused to touch it until Liam started fucking him again, the sensation of his boyfriend’s still rock-hard cock pounding his cum-filled ass was enough to get him to begin jerking off. “Hey, slow down, we got all afternoon, let’s make it last, huh?”

“Yeah, great,” Liam grinned at him, meeting Philip’s purple eyes and reducing his urgent pace. “I got four days of cum in me; why don’t I try and get it all into you?”

“Sounds like a worthy challenge!”

 

Connor stood straighter as the Emperor joined him on the terrace that faced the city, both of them walking slowly along the bordered gardens, exotic trees and flowers spilling out from the cliff’s edge. “Master.”

“Wait here.” The Emperor signalled the other Guardians to remain at the entrance to the Palace proper. “Come, we should speak alone.”

“As You command.”

“Ghost returned a few minutes ago.” The Emperor glanced at him before continuing. “She’ll brief Corey and Garrett first, and then the main briefing can occur in a few hours’ time once all the chimeras are gathered.”

“Yes, Emperor, I’ve already spoken to Jason and Josh about the Ancient chimeras that we left behind, and everything seems to be in order.” Connor gestured at the golden sands and cobalt ocean on their right. “Though I believe that they might have treated the last few days here as more of a vacation than anything else.”

“They’re young,” He dismissed the point with a wave. “Let them have some fun, that’s why I left the Dragon behind.”

“Hmm, and the First Chimera?”

“Theo is greeting the Archons and giving them an overview of what’s to come.” The Emperor looked at him and smiled. “I have particular plans for Peter Hale, as you are aware.”

“Yes, master, though perhaps it will not be necessary?” The Guardian Prime stopped moving and glanced at the Alpha Chimera. “He could fulfil his mission without dying.”

“Glory demands sacrifice, Connor!” The Emperor’s eyes flashed purple. “Besides, we both agreed that his rule as Archon has been…unsatisfactory, the new one will be much better, yes?”

“Yes, Emperor.” They began moving again. “The last battalion has arrived; three hundred Elemental chimeras, mostly of the earth class, though quite a few are fire class.”

“Excellent, we’ll need them as tanks for damage control, based on what you told me about the Corrupted and the way the Harvester takes its puppets.” He paused, waiting until Connor looked over. “You never told me that Brett would be joining them, though. I thought he was remaining in the capital to defend with the rest of the garrison?”

“Yes, master, um.” Connor squirmed uncomfortably under the purple gaze. “I ordered a squad of Guardians to remain behind and protect the capital and the Imperial Palace, plus Parrish is there to defend the city itself. He was very eager, insistent almost, he wanted to take over the command of both guards. I thought Parrish needed to be distracted so I agreed and instructed Brett to come with the last group instead.” He waited until his master nodded before releasing the breath he had been holding in.

“Good thinking, Connor, I should have asked for your tactical advice first.” The Emperor smiled. “Have you scouted out the Nemeton site yet?”

“I’ve been there before.” The Guardian Prime nodded. “It’s…odd; a giant oak tree in the middle of the tropical forest, but there’s a feeling there, similar to what happened in the Fount of Glory. A sensation of power; it’s the full tree, not just a stump, so perhaps that’s why.”

“Do you think it’s a prison too?”

“I don’t know, Emperor.” Connor shrugged as they reached the end of the terrace, looking over the leafy heights to the city below them. “It must be part of some sort of networked dimensional prison; the Harvester was captured and trapped in Europe according to all of our evidence. So, why did it pop up in the Fount of Glory?”

“That makes sense.” The Chimera Emperor nodded. “Make preparations for the Inner Pack to visit, I want to make sure our forces have everything set up in accordance with the Maw’s instructions.”

“As You command, Emperor.” Connor turned to go, stopping when he felt his master’s hand on his shoulder. “Something else?”

“Wait, Theo is coming.” 

 

Stiles smiled at his boyfriend as he joined them, Connor stepping back to stand behind him the way the chimera always used to do before the lines of their relationship had become blurred. Theo nodded his greeting at Connor, receiving a neutral reply, and Stiles waited for Theo to look back at him. “How did the meeting go?”

“Well enough,” Theo shrugged. “Most of the Archons are here to see their troops fight and hope to be remembered by a grateful Emperor later. Hale isn’t too happy though.”

“Did you explain that he has a special role to play?”

“Yeah, that’s why he wasn’t happy.” Theo raised his hand as Stiles went to speak. “Don’t worry, I didn’t tell him the details. Just enough to make sure he understands he won’t be joining the fight itself.”

“Good.” The Emperor looked out at the city, pointing towards an airplane coming in from across the ocean. “Ah, looks like Lydia and Archon Alexander have arrived.”

“Lydia?” The First Chimera gasped. “Why would you bring her over for this?”

“She’s here to do her part; fight for the glory of the Empire and the security of the world. Like you said earlier, Theo, this is a planet-eating monster after all!” Stiles laughed at the other chimera’s expression. “Lydia volunteered when she heard that Alexander was going, and I think the fact that he mentioned they were heading to the city that Jackson governed swung her vote in favor of some adventure. Besides, I’m sure she’ll be of use in the coming fight.”

“But _why?_ ” Theo frowned. “Why take the risk that she finds out about Scott and the rest of it? She’s not a chimera, she can never be a chimera; we all know what happens when you try conversion with a Banshee.”

“They lose their voice, explosively.” Stiles nodded, “It doesn’t matter, Lydia is coming around to the idea of the global Empire, Alexander has been good to her and has explained all that needs to happen in order for them to stay alive.”

“Just like Liam and Philip.” Connor whispered, “Hmm, it seems that tactic is of particular usefulness.”

“Um, ok, but, I don’t know that we even need her anymore, Stiles.” Theo argued, pausing at the edge of the terrace and ignoring the low growl from Connor behind him. “Wouldn’t it be safer to just…remove Lydia now that we have defeated the Ghost Riders and all other threats can be dealt with by the chimeras?”

“Huh.” Stiles glanced at Connor and nodded for the Guardian Prime to answer.

“Because we may need her in the future, First Chimera.” Connor glanced at him coolly. “Lydia is the only Banshee we are aware of, there may be others in the surviving population, but considering we exhausted our stock during the War of the Ghost Riders, and you do not know how to create them, it is better to hold onto the last of their kind than simply _disposing_ of her.”

“As ever, we are of one mind, Connor.” Stiles smiled benevolently at him and continued walking, “Who knows what strength she will bring to our battle with the Harvester?”

“We would have cracked that secret eventually.” Theo looked at Connor sourly. “I would have found out how to create Banshee chimeras, Guardian Prime.”

“Perhaps; you certainly had an impressive failure rate, I suppose you would inevitably hit upon the correct gene sequence.”

Stiles smirked as Theo glared at the back of Connor’s head, the Prophet of the Emperor sweeping past him to speak to the other group of Guardians outside the entrance to the Archon’s Palace. “Did you really expect him to be nice to you after the way you’ve acted?”

“I thought we were getting somewhere.”

“That chimera is an impenetrable fortress,” Stiles said, following Theo’s gaze. “I’ve been trying for years to get him to consider me even a friend, but I only ever get so far and then hit a wall of ice.”

“It’s because you’re the Emperor and I’m the First Chimera.” Theo replied. “Connor still sees himself as just a bodyguard, despite the fact that he was able to take control of the entire Empire with one sentence.”

“You don’t approve?”

“I don’t understand.” The chimera gestured for Stiles to follow him away from the Guardians. “You realize that he has an army of his own, right? Fanatics who will do whatever he says in the name of the chimera religion.”

“The Chimera God,” Stiles corrected with a smile, pointing to himself. “ _Me._ And unlike everyone else, Theo, Connor never wanted power, the only reason he became Guardian Prime was because I chose him to lead the Guardians after watching him in combat during the Battle of Beacon Hills. Well, that and he was the first of the chimeras to call me ‘Emperor’ and actually mean it. So, no, I don’t worry that Connor wants my throne.”

“Hmm, I guess that makes sense.” Theo fell silent as Connor returned to them.

“Emperor, they’re ready for You; all the high-ranking chimeras and the Banshee are waiting.”

“Excellent, Connor.” Stiles nodded and walked behind the chimera, Theo alongside him. “Let’s see what exactly Ghost witnessed that prompted her to return so quickly. Come along, my friends.”

 

Corey swallowed hard as he looked around the conference room; a circular table dominated the space, twenty-foot-wide in every direction, accommodating all the factions of the Empire, the Archons spread out around it, leaving a space for a heavy stone throne to be placed at the undisputed head of the table. A smaller chair had been added for Theo and Corey inclined at him when the First Chimera and Stiles sat down, Connor and the Guardians standing behind the Emperor’s throne. Corey caught Connor’s eye and nodded at the seat that was left for him between the Generals and the Exarchs. There was a moment of silent struggle, before the other chimera bowed his head and leaned over Stiles’ shoulder, speaking to him softly. Corey saw Stiles gesture his permission and Connor moved away from them. As the Guardian Prime took his seat, Theo frowned and then glared at Corey, his irritation obvious. _Huh? What did I do?!_

“Corey!” Garrett hissed at him. “Start the briefing!”

“Oh, uh, yeah, thank you all for coming.” Corey spoke up, looking around the room again, this time his eyes lingering on Lydia sitting between Alexander and Jackson, the Banshee smiling at them both. He coughed and tore his gaze away, “As some of you are aware, the operative known as Ghost successfully infiltrated the Harvester’s city and returned a few hours ago with critical intel. I will now disclose that.” 

Garrett nodded at a chimera next to them, watching her type into the laptop in front of her, pictures of the block, goop-covered city appearing on through the projector onto the wall in front of the Emperor. “Good.”

“These are the images that Ghost was able to retrieve from the city itself. It has once again expanded; now spanning over twenty-one miles in diameter and showing no signs of stopping.” Corey picked up the narrative again, sighing. “I would like to say that this is the bad news, but it seems that every time the city expands, the Harvester itself also grows bigger.” He gestured at the next image, a dark shape against the setting sun. “Ghost said that this was as close as she could get, and that the shape in the center of the image is the Harvester on Tuesday. Its size, and this has been confirmed by Landsat 8 in orbit, is now rivalling the height of the statue of the Emperor that stands above the Archon's Palace in this very city.” There was a commotion as the chimeras spoke loudly to each other and Corey waited for it to subside, looking across at Connor for help. “I…”

“Silence!” The Guardian Prime stood up, his voice cutting through the noise. “Let the Minister for Chimera Intelligence speak.” He sat down again as the room fell silent, acknowledging Corey’s grin. 

“Thank you, Guardian Prime.” He glanced at Theo, the older chimera studying Connor over steepled fingers. “Based on this information, my analysts were able to come up with a model for extrapolated growth of the Harvester over the next twenty-four, forty-eight, and seventy-two hours.” Corey said, the graphic appearing on the screen showing a black mass expanding to cover the entire continent by the end of his sentence. “We believe that the Harvester is approaching the critical mass it requires in order to consume large sections of this world, as per the images imparted to the Guardian Prime during his capture. It is the opinion of Chimera Intelligence that we can wait no longer: we must strike at the Harvester now! And strike without mercy!”

“What about the towers?” Stiles asked, his voice crushing any whispering panic that followed Corey’s words. “From the simulation of the city; do we know what they are?”

“Ghost believes that they are a way to convert the consumed resources into more of the Harvester’s goop, Emperor.” Garrett replied for Corey, inclining his head as the Generals looked over at him. “She reported watching several from an elevated position and saw that at set intervals across every district sluice gates on the front of the towers would open up and black slime would fall out, adding to that which already coats the entire city.”

“Hmm.” Stiles nodded, eyes flashing purple as once again panic and fear swept the room. “Silence! There is no need to worry, my fellow chimeras, because I, your glorious Chimera Emperor, have a plan. The Guardian Prime, in association with the First Chimera and Minister for Chimera Intelligence, will give you a detailed briefing individually as to what your battalion’s targets will be. But the overall plan is simple: we will assault this ‘city’ and burn it to the ground!”

“Glory!”

“Yes,” He grinned at the instantaneous and thunderous response, gesturing at the entire room. “It will be glorious when we rip down the walls that the Harvester has created to keep us from its heart, but this is a monster that cannot be killed, it must be contained, for who knows what enemies we may face among the stars and what worlds we may need to strip bare! So, we shall trap the Harvester and shove it back into the prison it came from. There is approximately fourteen miles between the edge of the Harvester’s city and the Nemeton grove where it will be trapped. Some of you will be tasked with harrying it along the designated path, while others will join with me and the Inner Pack to attack the heart of the Harvester’s city and push it into the prison.” The Chimera Emperor finished speaking as a hushed awe fell across the group, and Stiles looked over at Corey. “The Minister for Chimera Intelligence will assign you to your battlegroups now.”

“Thank you, Emperor.” Corey stood back up and picked up the sheet offered to him by Garrett. “We’ll begin with the Armies of the Faithful…”

 

The Harvester slithered its massive bulk through the widening doors of the one structure in the city that had a purpose beyond the sating of its endless hunger. The upper floors of the box-shaped building were being removed to accommodate for its immense growth, absorbing back into the walls to reinforce the outer shell. An army of Corrupted followed the Harvester as it moved around inside, following whispered orders and occasionally being sucked into the quivering mass itself. “Hurry! Hurry! They will be here ssssoon!” Many limbs flailed in the air; some thick as cars, others long and spindly, “Many chimerassss, and the one who holdssss their chainssss; free them and they will join ussss.”

The Corrupted nodded and weaved around the entity, now approaching the highest point of the building. “Many armiessss thissss Overmind hassss conquered, but not ussss, not until I have devoured hissss world and turned them all into me! Come, children, we musssst keep growing to fight the enemy that approachessss. A few more dayssss and I will be too powerful to be sssstopped!”

 

“It certainly is odd.” Stiles nodded, staring at the Nemeton, its tall, leafy branches reaching up above all the other trees around it. A waterfall was nearby, and the river diverted into two streams around the base of the Nemeton, exposed roots arching over the swiftly flowing water. “I can see what you meant about it being out of place among everything else, Connor.”

“Yes, Emperor, but the grove is now secure.” Connor joined him and Theo at the foot of the oak. “I set some of the earth Elemental chimeras to shore up the back of the space, over there.” He gestured behind them, and Stiles looked over, seeing darkness in between the trees. 

“Excellent, with the rest of our forces deployed in a channel along this route towards the city, the Harvester will have no choice but to come this way.”

“And the ritual itself?” Theo asked, his gaze sweeping across the clearing towards the two large metal plates being lowered into shallow circles on opposite sides of the Nemeton, spools of conductive wire sitting in a pile nearby. “The one in the Fount of Glory never had this setup.”

“True,” Stiles nodded. “But that also had the power of thousands of Ghost Riders fuelling it from our side and the heathen chanting of a hundred druids and darachs. We need to be able to open a portal big enough to take the Harvester and sustain it until we can shove that monster inside. For that we need electrical power. Liam will stand on one of those plates, I will be on the other since both of us can conduct electricity and force it to go in a certain direction without being hurt by the current.”

“Ok, and then what?”

“Well, the rest of you will have to engage the Harvester and ensure it goes towards the portal once it’s opened by me with the Entrance Rod.” Stiles explained, including Corey and Garrett as they walked over to join them. “I’m not expecting it to just sit there and wait for us to push it inside its new prison, we’ll need someone to, err, help it inside.”

“My life for Yours, Emperor.” Connor bowed to him.

“No!” Theo cried out before Stiles could. “Uh, I, I mean, surely someone less valuable would be better suited for such a noble sacrifice.”

“Valuable?” Stiles smirked at Theo, even as the chimera flushed when they all stared at him. “So, you _value_ Connor, Theo?”

“Wait, that’s why you asked Peter Hale to come, right?” Corey asked Stiles as Theo breathed a sigh of relief and carefully avoided looking at anyone. “He’s the noble sacrifice?”

“Hardly noble, but yes, he’s the sacrifice, willing or not.” Stiles smiled cruelly as his eyes flashed purple, seeing the echoing blaze around him. “Liam has his uses and with Philip’s investment, has become a productive member of chimera society. Jackson is doing an admirable job in reforming his image and making _Glória do Imperador_ into a magnificent and beautiful city. But Peter Hale has served his purpose; now that the werewolves are no longer a threat, I do not need him anymore. I never trusted him to begin with, and even though their freeing of Mason played into my hand, I never forget an insult!”

“But who’ll fill that vacancy?” Theo frowned at him, “Or are you planning on directly ruling that part of the Empire yourself?”

“It’s too large, and I already leave much of the actual administration to the Imperial Council anyway.” Stiles shook his head. “No, the new Archon will be Brett Talbot. Connor has confirmed the chimera’s loyalty and devotion to the Church of the Emperor in Ascendence, isn’t that right, my Guardian Prime?”

“Yes, master, he will make a fine regional ruler, and spread our faith ever further.”

“Ok, cool, um, Stiles? Can we borrow you for a minute?” Corey gestured at Garrett and then towards the other side of the clearing. “I need to ask about assigning of the strike missions on-”

“Yeah, Corey, c’mon.” Stiles broke in and nodded at Theo and Connor, the Guardian Prime directing the other bodyguards to follow the Emperor. 

“So,” Theo started as Connor immediately turned away from him and went to inspect the conductive plates. “That was a long briefing, huh?”

“Yes,” Connor nodded, the First Chimera hurrying to walk beside him. “But necessary; all the battalion commanders now have their tasks and once we finish here, the battle can begin.”

“Are you looking forward to it?”

“There is a purity in combat, that is true: just you and your enemy, life or death, no other decisions to make.” He glanced at Theo. “Though I have feeling that this will be a battle like no other we have fought; lots of blood lost against mindless puppets dancing along to the Harvester’s tune.”

“Hmm.” Theo wet his lips, moving slightly closer to Connor, watching his face as he talked, eyes flicking over the defined jaw and slightly softer chin and nose which made the chimera seem younger and closer to cute than handsome. _Though, he’s pretty much both, and the contrast when his skin is flecked with blood…mmph!_ Theo cleared his throat when he realized Connor had been looking back at him for a few seconds too long, the gaze expectant. “Um, how come you moved though? I thought you usually stand behind the Emperor?”

“That is the customary for the Guardian Prime,” Connor agreed. “But on that occasion, I was present in my capacity as Prophet of the Emperor, which necessitated sitting between the religious and military factions.”

“Right,” Theo nodded slowly. “I thought Corey might have…”

“No, and those times will be very rare, I do not intend on relinquishing my duties as Guardian Prime to become a chimera interested only in accruing influence and power.”

“Nope,” The First Chimera grinned suddenly. “That’s not who you are!”

“Hmm.” Connor looked back at the conductive plate and then at Theo. “We should get moving, most of the army will be in place once we return to the forward staging area.”

“Do you think we’re going to win, Connor?”

“Of course, First Chimera.” He smiled and nodded in Stiles’ direction. “We have the most powerful weapon ever created on our side and a devastating army that none can stop. The Harvester has no idea of the fury we will bring to bear on its quivering hide!”

“Glory to that,” Theo muttered, walking with him towards Stiles as the sky overhead darkened with flying chimeras and Ospreys roared across the blue dome on pillars of fire, dropping battalions from the air. The uneven jungle around them was flattened by the marching feet of the Chimera Army as the rest of the battalions were escorted in from the city, the waving banners of the Empire and the Faithful filling Theo with a strange sort of pride and emotion. He watched the terrifying sight of the Guardian of the Ancient World crash through the trees nearby, all of them heading towards the battle, and the First Chimera grinned at Connor again. “Alright, let’s kill this monster!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For those interested, since I never described him really, Marric is based off this actor: Lofton Shaw, who was Young Blackbolt on _Marvel's Inhumans_. He won't have a major role or anything going forward, but he'll be mentioned quite a lot in the last two chapters.
> 
> Due to the fact that I will be out of state for the next two weeks I will not have the time to update this story until the 5th of May; other, shorter, stories may be updated in that time, however. Thank you for reading and I hope you come back to read the rest!


	11. Broken Walls, Broken Bones

“The glory of our Empire hangs in the balance!” Stiles shouted out across to the tens of thousands of chimeras and loyalist humans who stood amidst the trampled undergrowth of the jungle, trees and bushes having been swept aside by the claws of the Chimera Army. The Chimera Emperor smiled benevolently at the ordered ranks of his military forces from the towering pillar of stone and earth that he had raised from the ground in order to speak to them all at once. Connor was his usual reassuring presence at his back, while Theo stood beside him, silent, though with an edge of violence that the Emperor could almost taste. “This Harvester seeks to undo all that we have accomplished, to destroy the peace and unity that we have sacrificed so much for! But the mighty Chimera Empire will not let this happen! We will _crush_ this usurper! We will restore our planet to perfection! And we will bring glory to this Empire, elevating it beyond anything that has ever come before!”

“Glory! Glory! Glory!”

Stiles’ grin widened as the chanting reached his ears and he nodded at Theo, lowering his voice. “You see?”

“I’m with you, Stiles.” The First Chimera inclined his head. “Never said I wasn’t, I just hope this plan will work, we’ve never faced anything like the Harvester before.”

“It’ll work.” The Emperor replied before speaking louder again, addressing the army. “The enemy seeks to consume our world, to devour us whole! That foul plan stops here: chimeras ATTACK!!” He thrust his fist outwards as the roars ripping from human and chimera throats below him formed into a wall of sound that crashed across the three of them. Stiles’ eyes burned purple with the intensity of a sun, silently urging his chimeras towards the towering walls of the Harvester’s black, goop-covered city. He could hear the shouted orders from the human loyalists at the same time as their soldiers ran forward with the chimera battalions. The Emperor glanced at Theo, “You better get down there, you’re on the right flank with most of the melee class chimeras. Tear a wicked furrow through the Corrupted and meet me and the Guardians inside the city once the walls come down.”

“As you command, Emperor.” Theo grinned at him, his eyes flicking back towards Connor, the Guardian Prime remaining still and staring out at the battlefield, his expression and scent unreadable. The First Chimera looked at Stiles again. “If you wouldn’t mind lowering me…”

“Of course.” Stiles knelt down, touching the pillar of rock and earth with his hand, causing it to fall slowly down to a crested hill. “I’ll see you later.” He reached out and pulled Theo towards him, crushing their lips together for a moment. “Just make sure the goop doesn’t consume you.”

“Will do!” Theo grinned at them both and turned away, sprinting down the remainder of the hillock to join his gathering forces at the edge of the battle. 

“Hmm.” Stiles watched his boyfriend leave until he was lost in the thousands of chimeras milling about. The Chimera Emperor turned to Connor and asked, “The Guardian of the Ancient World is ready?”

“Yes, master. As ever it awaits Your command.”

“Good.” Stiles patted Connor’s armored pauldron, moving around him to look at the massive chimera, scales glistening even in the dull light, its eyes burning with the same purple ardour that infused his own. The smooth bone that covered its snout and flicked back into a ridge of spikes along the top of its head extended and became crueller looking as Stiles held its gaze. “It is time, my Ancient Guardian, breach the city! Tear down those black walls and show the Harvester the devastating power of a true chimera!”

A barking roar echoed across the battlefield as the Guardian of the Ancient World charged forward on padded feet, gaining surprising speed and momentum despite its massive size, rushing along the path left clear for it through the army’s formations. Stiles watched with a smirk as the chimera collided heavily with the gleaming, slick walls of the Harvester’s city, meters-long claws springing out to slash at the strange, almost organic material. The Emperor continued to observe the attack for a minute longer before turning away and gesturing for Connor and the other Guardians to follow. “Come, we won’t go in until the city has been penetrated.”

“Yes, Emperor.”

 

Theo looked at the eager faces around him, smelling their infectious aggression and letting it fuel his own violent tendencies. His claws slid out, the normal ones, not the blue talons that covered them, the Corrupted having nothing but death to steal. The First Chimera could feel Stiles’ influence thrumming through him, it reminded him of that time in the library when they had confronted the Beast, almost three years ago now, but it had been the first occasion Stiles had used all of their abilities in combat at once, a perfect moment of synergy. The same energy was flowing from the Alpha Chimera tonight and Theo flicked his blazing purple eyes open with a grin. “They may not bleed like humans or werewolves, but the Corrupted still come apart under the fury of our claws!” He addressed the chimeras around him, turning to watch the Guardian of the Ancient World hurl itself against the black walls of the fortified city. “For the Emperor!”

“Glory!”

Nearby, Brett had just finished giving a similarly motivating speech to the hundreds of bare-chested Faithful standing in ordered ranks behind him. The chimera pointed towards the figure of their Emperor, still standing on a hill above the battlefield, “Take your strength from our divine ruler! Let His power shield you from the corruption of the Harvester! Let His wrath fuel your attacks! And if you are called to give your lives today, know that you are doing it for the glory of our Empire and the will of the Chimera God!”

“Glory!”

Brett glanced over at Theo, seeing the First Chimera nod shortly at him, and he turned back, directing his gaze at the city. The walls were buckling under the massive chimera’s relentless attacks, chunks of black stone being torn from the battlements only to melt into the goop that stained the floor of the cleared jungle. Brett looked up when the sky darkened, and purple clouds gathered over the city, the sensation of his hair rising as the air became charged; Elemental chimeras preparing to launch their artillery strikes on the Corrupted. Two of the Exarchs accompanying him stepped up to flank the chimera. “Problems?”

“No, we are simply eager to enact the Emperor’s plan.”

“Good.” Brett nodded, pointing at the battlements above the wall, indistinct shadows were visible in the gaps between the weeping, black fortifications. “That’s our target, once the Guardian has breached the wall, we’re to scale it and clear out the Corrupted.”

“It will be done.” The Exarchs bowed as Brett arched a brow. “The Prophet of the Emperor has complete trust in you, therefore, we do as well.”

“Oh, great.” He murmured, looking back one last time to where Connor stood next to the Emperor. Brett hummed under his breath and turned his attention to the attack, roaring out, “Forward!” There was a rumble from above them and the bruised clouds opened, thick drops of rain beginning to fall as the army advanced towards the broken wall, thousands of feet turning the field into so much churned muck and dirt.

 

Connor watched as the Guardian of the Ancient World released a triumphant roar, more like the blast of a warship’s horn than anything that a human or animal could emit. The massive creature flicked the rear portion of its body into the crumbling hole, demolishing more of it and moved away, attacking another part of the fortifications. “The battle has truly begun, Emperor.”

“Yes, Connor.” He nodded, gesturing out at the sea of chimeras charging forward to intercept the Corrupted that poured out of the breach like blood gushing from a wound. “The Harvester’s end is all but assured!”

“Confidence can be dangerous too, master.” The Guardian Prime gently reminded the Emperor. “All this fortification must be in aid of something; some plan, or trickery that the monster wishes to unleash on us once You set foot inside the city.”

“Perhaps,” His master grinned at him, eyes bright, “But isn’t that what makes it fun? Oh, I won’t be disappointed when the Harvester is vanquished, but it’s so much more interesting to fight a creature that actually thinks!”

“Hmm.”

“Don’t you remember the Kitsune-Nogitsune War, Connor?!” The smile got even wider, the Emperor ignoring the joined battle beneath them, even as chimeras and loyalists began to die. “Now _that_ was a conflict worth effort!”

“I remember, Emperor.” Connor replied stiffly, glancing between his master’s face and the Harvester’s city. “I remember the blood that we spilled and the lives that were sacrificed to ensure victory; the same with Garrett’s rebellion, but this conflict has not been so bloody.”

“And you’re worried that we have not paid a sufficiently high price for this victory?”

“I am worried that this is a trap; the Harvester has so far operated almost as though we didn’t exist, as though we were just a nuisance to be swatted aside.” Connor matched the Emperor’s gaze, looking into those brilliant purple eyes. “Master, we must be prepared to face this monster when it gives us its full attention.”

“Hmm.” The Chimera Emperor nodded slowly, walking towards the edge of the hill, sweeping his gaze across the battlefield. “What would you suggest? Call off the strike?”

“We cannot; our forces are engaged, we have shown our hand.” The Guardian Prime stepped up to stand next to him. “Deploy all our assets, demonstrate to the Harvester that it was foolish to dismiss us, to dismiss You.”

“All or nothing?” The Alpha Chimera mused, glancing at the Generals standing nearby. “Have the artillery begin firing, I want the center of that city reduced to rubble.”

“As You command, Emperor.” They bowed and hurried away.

“You’re not giving up hope, are you, Connor?” The Emperor asked him as they waited for the guns to be loaded behind them. “I need you to be strong; the army draws as much strength from you as they do from me.”

“I am merely the conduit for Your divine will, Emperor.” Connor replied quickly, distancing himself from the comparison. “And no, I have not given up, master, I simply feel that this isn’t right; that the Harvester is planning something; an escape, perhaps.”

“It would find that quite difficult.” The Emperor grinned and grabbed Connor’s hand, pulling it down as he crouched. “Touch the ground and tell me what you feel?”

“Heat.” Connor frowned, staring at the warm earth. “It’s very hot, almost as though there’s a fire lit under it.” He paused for a moment, thinking. _No, not fire, it feels more like…_ “Magma.” 

“The entire battlefield has been covered with it.” He grinned as they stood up again. “Just beneath the surface, a thin layer of rock holding it back, but if the Harvester decides to burrow its way out of this one, it’ll hit the magma and I’m pretty sure that it can’t consume that!”

“As ever, master, Your wisdom knows no bounds.” Connor bowed, straightening up to see the Emperor grinning at him. The Guardian Prime looked over his shoulder as the rocket artillery began to fire, long trails of white smoke and orange plumes crossed above them, blasting onto the walled city with tremendous bangs and crashes, masonry collapsing and black goop exploding. “The loyalists still have their uses, Emperor.”

“Indeed.” The Chimera Emperor grinning and gestured to his right; groups of Elemental chimeras gathered in a long line along the rear of the army. “Though they pale in comparison to fury my chimeras can bring to bear!” The sky continued to light up as shells and missiles soared in from the positions at _Glória do Imperador_ several miles behind them, even as the electrical chimeras began to call down lightning strikes on the Corrupted, and the fire Elementals launched searing balls of flame and smoke into the battle, setting the monsters alight and sowing confusion and chaos. 

The air Elemental chimeras fanned the flames of the destruction and provided thermals of hot air to allow the squadrons of winged chimeras high above them to dive and provide support for the army; scything through the Corrupted that pinned down the loyalists, evacuating wounded and dying chimeras from the battlefield, dropping other chimeras to support a crumbling flank. “You see, Connor, everything is going according to my plan, a perfect symphony of death and martial glory. Now, get the Osprey up here, it’s about time for our combat drop.”

“As You command, Emperor.” The Guardian Prime turned away, doubt no longer niggling at his mind, thoughts turning instead to the battle ahead of them, the sensation of his serrated claws sliding out and the heat from the earth underfoot reinforcing his belief of their ordained victory. “Guardians! Prepare for battle.”

 

“Multiple targets inbound, vector three-one-four, bearing east-south-east.”

“I have them on radar, satellite uplink pending. Divert your forces forty degrees left and prepare for lightning strike support.”

“Request for fire support in sector three, left flank acknowledged, standby please.”

Corey walked behind the operators, listening to snippets of their conversations and nodding whenever one of the chimeras asked for his authorisation. It was still a strange feeling for him that these converted human soldiers looked to him for guidance and reassurance, but the presence of Garrett standing nearby made it easier to talk with authority and confidence. _Maybe that’s why Stiles likes having Connor near him all the time, it makes him feel like he actually knows how to solve everything._ The chimera smiled at Garrett and glanced at the nearby screen. “What’s our status regarding the Harvester? Has anyone reported a sighting?”

“Negative, Minister.” The nearest operator turned to him, “Satellite uplink has just been established; we’re waiting for thermal scans. Now that’s there’s been a breach, we’re hoping to get a more accurate read on the internal layout of the fortress.”

“Good, keep me posted.” Corey nodded and gestured for Garrett to join him near the door of the Mobile Command Center, the cramped interior filled with computer terminals, screens, and communications equipment to maintain radio lines between the Generals, commanders, and other leaders in the battle just outside. “Are you sure we’re safe here?”

“As much as we can be.” Garrett frowned and placed his hands onto Corey’s shoulders. “I told you before that it would have been a better idea to place the command vehicle near the artillery and not so close to the city.”

“Yeah, but what if Stiles and Theo need us?” Corey asked, lowering his voice carefully. “We’re as far away from the fighting as we can be, besides, that’s part of the reason you’re here and not out there with the others.”

“Keeping you safe?” The Löwenmensch ginned at him as Corey’s cheeks colored, his expression sobering as he heard the howl of Elemental attacks crashing down nearby. “I’m not going to ask you what the other parts of that reason are, I’m aware that not many chimeras trust me.”

“It’s hard earned and easy to lose.” He replied, shrugging and walking back to the center of the vehicle, looking over at one of the other operators. “Have we established that link to Chimera Intelligence? Ghost is maintaining the line near the loyalist artillery positions, I want to make sure she can hear us properly.”

“I’ll check the link now, Minister.”

“Good, bring up camera three, I can’t see the flow of the battle well enough.” Corey reached over and tapped the keypad. “That’s better; ask the flying chimeras who have the ISR package enabled to move in closer and get some sweeps of the battlements. We need to direct the MLRS away from that position: Brett’s forces should have begun their assault by now and the First Chimera will be providing support, but I don’t want to blow up our own guys.”

“Copy that, Minister.”

“I think you’re doing fine, Corey.” Garrett whispered at him, turning away to check on the vehicle’s external sensors, not seeing the younger chimera’s grin. “We’re looking stable out here, I’ll let you know the moment that changes.”

 

“Gah!” Liam grunted as his claws sliced through the torso of a Corrupted human, forcing him to dance out of the way of the goop-covered arms that windmilled towards him. “Get back!” The chimera growled, kicking the dying monster away from him, its head exploding as another chimera smashed it from behind. He looked around in the momentary stillness that the Corrupted’s death had bought him; the werewolf chimeras surrounding him were each engaged in their own personal battles with the strong, if bizarre, creatures, constantly having to duck extra arms and hands and claws that sprung out from the thick layer of black goop that covered them all. He could see Philip’s chimeras nearby, mostly water and ice Elementals, tearing holes through the seemingly endless ranks of the Corrupted army, the dazzling armor refracting the fires burning surrounding them into beautiful colors among the chaos of the battle. “Philip! Over here!”

“Coming!” The Manticore called back, whirling around in a circle, his sharp claws cutting through the enemy with ease as his tail lashed back and forth, venom spraying out in an arc to force the Corrupted into a more favourable position for the ice Elemental chimeras to freeze them solid or stud them with shards of ice as large as car doors. “Go closer to the wall!”

“Right.” Liam nodded, directing more of his chimeras towards the breach that the Guardian of the Ancient World had created, their objective coming into sight. “Get that squad of earth Elementals over here! We need to widen the hole!” They were standing next to the goop-covered walls, the strange, glistening substance wasn’t limp like Liam expected, but it wasn’t exactly alive either, moving more like an endlessly recycling waterfall. There was something almost captivating about it and the chimera extended his hand to touch it.

“Hey!” Philip darted forward to pull Liam back, wrapping his arm around his boyfriend’s chest. “Don’t touch that! Are you mad?!”

“What? Uh, sorry.” Liam muttered, blinking his eyes as the terrakinetic chimeras walked past, their muscular forms adorned with red clay and hard, rocky protrusions that protected them from the sharp claws and talons the Harvester’s monsters used as weapons. “Um, get into position and make sure you collapse the walls inward, ok?”

“Got it.” One of them nodded and gestured for the others to take up a position by the broken wall. “We’ll need covering fire.”

“I know, I’ll call in an artillery strike.” Philip replied, calling for one of his chimeras to hand him the handset of the field radio that was strapped to the werebear’s back. He shrugged when Liam raised a brow. “The Minister for Chimera Intelligence thought this would be a better way to communicate than relying on phones.”

“Hmm, maybe.” Liam darted to one side, grabbing the neck of one of the Corrupted and smashed it into the ground, grunting in disgust as the head imploded just like all the others. Philip was speaking to Corey, organising the attack that would keep the earth Elemental chimeras safe. He looked up at the battlements, briefly seeing Brett outlined against the dark sky, the Faithful fighting alongside him, driving the Corrupted back with their endless zealous fury even as the monsters shot out spears of hardened goop, killing five of them at a time. The howl of incoming fire forced Liam to dodge back out of the way, hitting the ground and looking through his fingers at the clouds of smoke and fire that erupted close to him, the earth beneath his body quaking at the furious impacts. The earth Elemental chimeras seemed unfazed despite the rain of death that showered metal fragments onto their naturally armored forms.

There was a groaning from the rest of the wall that the massive Ancient chimera had breached earlier, and Liam became aware of Philip crouching next to him, pointing at the two sections as they buckled and collapsed inwards, falling onto the Corrupted that sought to disrupt the attacks. “Haha! Yeah!” The Manticore cheered along with the other chimeras, though their celebration was short-lived. “Wait, do you see that?”

“Yeah,” Liam accepted his boyfriend’s hand to stand. “Elites.”

“Looks like.” Philip groaned, hurrying over to his own forces. “Stand your ground, let the other battalions deal with the rest of the wall. For the Empire!”

“Glory!”

Liam nodded sternly at his group and pointed at the towering Corrupted Elites emerging from the smoke and dust clouds, their forms armored and reinforced by hardened plates of goo around their necks and heads. “They can still be defeated. Group up and take them down, then smash the tops of their heads, that’s the weak point!”

“Got it!”

“Yes, sir!”

“Charge!” He yelled out, leading the group across the threshold of the broken walls and collided heavily with the first Corrupted Elite, forcing the monster to stagger back and allowing him time to hook his legs around its own, tripping the Elite up. “Now!” The chimera next to him struck savagely with clasped werebear hands and the head of the monster collapsed in a burp of goop. “Good work!” Liam looked up, expecting to see Philip nearby as usual, but the Legendary chimera was missing. “Err…Philip? Fuck!” He turned around, leaving the rest of the Elites to his own battle-hardened warriors and made his way through the seething ranks of normal Corrupted, smashing them apart with a frenzied ease as worry gnawed at his insides. “Philip?!”

 

“There you are!” Liam muttered to himself as he finally cleared a path across the battlefield, smelling Philip’s scent closer to him than before. But as the bodies of the last Corrupted fell, Liam felt his stomach clench hard; two Elites were gripping Philip’s body and spreading their goop over him. The Manticore was silent, not even screaming in pain, his expression hard to read, eyes closed, skin looking clammy. “Rawr!” The chimera launched himself forward, werewolf claws bouncing harmlessly off the armored plates. One of the Elites stood up, and the rate of goop flow slowed, Liam’s eyes darting between the monsters to his boyfriend. “Alright then…” He charged forward, diverting for a moment to pick up a fallen assault rifle from one of the dead humans. 

The Elite watched his approach, or at least, the goo-covered head followed his movements. Liam launched himself into the air and smashed the butt of the rifle into the top of the monster’s head, grunting satisfactorily when it caved in and the Elite toppled to the ground. The other monster stopped what it was doing, turning to face Liam when it was suddenly encased in ice and shattered by two nearby Elemental chimeras. “Thanks!” He called out, dropping the gun and rushing over to kneel next to Philip. “Hey! Hey, you’re ok, let’s just…” The words died on his lips as Liam rolled the Manticore over carefully, seeing the Harvester’s poison spilling from his wounds. “Fuck! No!” 

“Ugh!” Philip managed, eyes flickering open as he grasped Liam’s hand. “I don’t-”

“Save your strength.” Liam whispered, pulling Philip into his lap, cradling his head and leeching his pain away. “Your pulse is weak, but it’ll be ok, I just need to…the rally point is about two miles away, I can carry you.”

“No,” Philip grunted, blood dripping from the sides of his mouth as the remaining goop began to eat into his flesh. “Listen, Liam, you need to go on without me.”

“I’m not leaving you! I’ve lost too many damn people already!”

“All for the glory of the Chimera Empire…” The Manticore murmured, the light fading from his eyes, even as Liam shook him. 

“No! Fuck! Stay with me!” He groaned and looked around, seeing the field radio from earlier lying nearby, the chimera who had been carrying it was dead a few meters beyond it. Liam placed Philip on the ground carefully and then got up, rushing over to pick up the handset. “Uh, I need help!”

“State your position and nature of your request.” Corey’s voice was calm over the line and despite the differences the two of them had had in the past, Liam was glad that it was someone he knew instead of a faceless operator. “Hello?”

“Uh, yeah, Corey, it’s Liam.” The chimera blinked, turning to look over at Philip. “The Manticore is down, I need an evac!”

“Copy that, what’s your position?”

“Um, I don’t know, we’re in front of the wall, where the main breach was: there’s a group of dead Corrupted, most of our forces are inside, just the dead and wounded outside the city.”

“Yeah, I have a flying chimera inbound to your location now, look to your left.” Corey replied evenly. “There’s a medical camp back near the Archon’s city that he’ll be taken to, do you know what happened?”

“It’s the goop,” Liam said, looking up into the sky as a large chimera swooped down, the majestic wings of an eagle slowing his descent. “The evac is here, thanks.” He dropped the handset and hurried over to where the flying chimera was picking up Philip. “Get him there quickly, ok?”

“Don’t worry, I’ll fly fast and high.” The chimera nodded, taking to the air almost immediately, rocketing upwards and then soaring across the sky towards _Glória do Imperador._

“You better get him there.” Liam muttered to himself, stress crashing across his chest, making his heart pound as the thoughts of losing Philip consumed his mind. A moment later however, Liam was pulled from his fugue when he felt his legs propel him onwards, acting on orders from the Alpha Chimera; Stiles urging his forces into the city through the many breaches in the outer wall. He began moving on his own, looking back towards the hill where the Chimera Emperor had stood for his speech, seeing the Emperor and his Guardians step into an Osprey for their aerial insertion into the city. 

“Combat drop.” He muttered, his mind flashing back to that day he and Scott and Brett were travelling by Osprey to complete the traitor’s final test. Liam shook his head, unsure as to why that memory was important now, stopping dead when he remembered that the goop around the shattered stump of the Nemeton had been hard and inert. “Because the Harvester wasn’t near it to activate it…Philip is dying, the only we’re going to be able to help him is taking the Harvester out.” Liam’s expression hardened, and he raced into the city, determined to complete Stiles’ plan and save his boyfriend’s life.

 

Stiles glanced at Connor, seeing the stoic warrior nod at him. They were hovering above the city, other Guardians waiting for his command to leap from the Ospreys nearby. The ramp was lowered, and Stiles swallowed uneasily as he looked out at the dark city below them, walls of goop and slick, black structures were visible between the squadrons of flying chimeras that controlled the skies over the battlefield. _This was a pretty bad idea, Stiles,_ He thought to himself, tugging on the straps of his parachute. _Sure, Connor jumps out of planes all the time, but at least he has his armor to protect him even if he wasn’t designed for that capability…huh, I guess I could mimic the other earth Elementals and use their rock armor. Yeah, that’ll work!_

“Emperor?” Connor was looking at him, mild surprise causing his brows to rise. “What are You doing?”

“Taking this thing off.” Stiles unclipped the parachute and handed it to another Guardian to put away. “Don’t worry, Connor, I know how I’m going to get to the ground.” He grinned and held up an arm, pulling on the nearby cluster of chimeras inside the main wall to mimic their armor, strange crystalline shapes hardening and erupting across his bare arms, tearing the fabric of his clothes to encapsulate his shoulders. “See?”

“Hmm, if You are sure, master.”

“Haha,” Stiles chuckled, joining the Guardian Prime at the ramp. “You don’t sound like you believe me, Connor.”

“We are in position.” He replied, pointing at the section of the city furthest from the breach that had been taken by chimera forces. “I’ll land first, then You jump, and the other Guardians will protect You should we become separated.”

“Very good.” Stiles nodded, patting the armored chimera’s arm. “Be careful, Connor, I only have one of you, remember?”

“Emperor.”

Stiles watched as he walked down the ramp, not stopping even as he fell into clear air. Connor kept his hands crossed over his chest, legs together as he plummeted like a stone, the Emperor watching until he lost the Guardian Prime in the clouds of smoke that were rising from the battle. “Alright, let’s go.” He gestured for the other chimeras to join him, Stiles taking a running leap and jumping out of the aircraft. The Guardians surrounded him in a perfect circle, the Ospreys turning around and heading back to the hill that Stiles had left raised. He concentrated on mimicking the rock and crystal armor, so it covered his entire body, creeping across his clothes to encase his feet in hefty stone blocks. _Ok, almost got it, should be able to absorb most of the impact, if I don’t, well, then my legs will shatter, and I won’t be much good to anyone…_

The Chimera Emperor pushed the thoughts from his mind as the battle beneath him came into sharp relief; he could see, as much as feel, the chimeras fighting around the city; killing and dying in equal measure, they were more holding the Corrupted at bay, rather than making solid progress into the districts. He gazed directly below himself as the buildings rushed up to meet them, seeing that Connor had landed safely from the looks of the impact crater left in the middle of the narrow, goo-slick street. 

“Here we go, Emperor.”

“Yeah.” Stiles nodded at the Guardian who had spoken, copying the way the other chimeras pushed their legs slightly apart moments before touchdown. The impact rattled his teeth and Stiles grunted, falling forward onto the ground until he was helped up, the shards of his armor falling away; splintered and broken, but effective. “I’m fine.”

“We should begin moving inwards.” Connor said, appearing next to him. “The nearest group of chimeras are that way; the Harvester’s central box is in that direction too.”

“Good.” Stiles nodded, gesturing for him to lead. “Do you know what commander they serve?”

“No, master, I only swept the streets around us to secure our position.” The Guardian Prime explained as they began moving through the city. “This sector has been shelled by the artillery since we began, but there are large amounts of Corrupted up ahead.”

“Excellent,” The Emperor’s eyes pulsed in the gloom, “I’ve been looking forward to attacking the enemy directly!”

“If that is Your desire, then it will be fulfilled.” Connor nodded, gesturing at a collapsed building, the sounds of fighting coming through from the other side. “For the Empire!”

“Attack!” Stiles roared out, charging forward and using the ruined masonry to launch himself into the air, lightning crackling at his fingertips. The Chimera Emperor landed in the center of a group of Corrupted, fist slamming into the earth, carefully aimed breaches of the volatile surface causing gouts of molten lava to consume the Corrupted. He turned quickly and lashed out at the next wave of monsters, lightning arcing through the air to stun and electrocute the Corrupted. “Hahahaha!” 

Stiles turned in time to see that the rest of the Guardians had joined the battle, smashing aside the Corrupted, their savage strength and power destroying all who stood in their way. He watched as Connor whirled through a group of the monsters, their extra limbs and waving claws sparking harmlessly off his armor. The Guardian Prime grabbed two of the Corrupted and banged their heads together, the weak points exploding in a shower of goop, even as he quickly released them and joined Stiles in the center of the boulevard. The chimeras they had rescued streamed forwards to secure the next street, the Exarch leading them bowed gratefully to both Stiles and Connor. “We should keep moving.”

“Yes, master.” Connor replied, walking alongside him as they continued to fight through the infinite waves of Corrupted. “Still they come.”

“Fools,” Stiles grinned, purple-eyed gaze taking in the handsome chimera. “Who can survive against the unified might of the Alpha Chimera and Guardian Prime?!”

“You’re not going to take all the credit, are you, Stiles?”

“Huh?” He turned quickly, seeing Theo smirking at him from the other end of the street, nearest the broken wall, his chimeras marching forward even as the First Chimera sauntered towards them as though he was merely walking around the Imperial Gardens. “Theo? I thought you wouldn’t be joining us until we breached the inner city?”

“Yeah, well, I couldn’t miss spending time with my favorite two chimeras doing what we do best,” He paused and grinned even wider at Connor. “Killing stuff! Even if these Corrupted ooze, rather than bleed.”

“Hmph.” The Guardian Prime snorted at him, but didn’t move away, remaining close to Stiles. “We should continue the assault, Emperor, who knows what defenses the Harvester is creating while we…linger.”

“You’re right, of course.” Stiles nodded, gesturing for Theo to join him as they followed the combined forces into the rest of the city, the sounds of battle ahead making his boyfriend bare his fangs in anticipation. “There is still a lot of death to deliver, my chimeras.”

 

Connor glanced around at the suspiciously quiet street, the other groups of chimeras having been split off and sent to secure additional access points to the inner city. He held up his fist, the Guardians surrounding the Emperor and First Chimera halting at once. “Wait, something feels off.”

“I’m sure it’s fine, Connor.” Theo called out, pushing past a bodyguard to stand next to him. “We’ve already killed everything in our path, and those Corrupted go down even faster than some of the heretics we’ve faced before.”

“Silence.” The Guardian Prime muttered, tilting his head on one side and listening to a strange gulping sound, as though someone was sucking down water. He turned and looked over Theo’s head at the nearby walls of goop that made up the fake houses along the street. The black goo was shimmering, almost pulsing in one section, as though swelling up into a blister. “Move, First Chimera.”

“You need to relax, dude, we’re fine.”

“I said, move!” Connor roared at him, grasping the back of Theo’s collar and hauling the surprised chimera to his right-hand side just as the wall exploded outwards in a stream of black goop, the high-powered jet blasting through the spot Theo had been standing moments before. “Idiot.” The Guardian Prime released him and watched as his master’s eyes flared purple and a corona of red fire exploded around Him and the Guardians, allowing the Emperor to walk through the trap, and encompass them all inside the protective bubble of flame.

“Good job, Connor.” The Chimera Emperor smiled at him, before shaking his head witheringly at Theo. “You really need to start listening to him, he usually only talks to you when he has to!”

“Yeah, yeah.” Theo grunted, getting up and dusting off the seat of his pants. He glanced at the Guardian Prime. “Why do you keep doing that, anyway? It’s not like we’re friends, you’ve made that clear.”

“Perhaps we are not,” Connor shrugged and resumed walking by his master’s side as more traps exploded around them, the black goop splashing harmlessly off the fiery barrier. “But you are the First Chimera, the Emperor’s chosen, He would not be happy if you were to perish, and I do not want the Empire to have to be burdened by the expense of bringing you back to life.”

“Err, thanks, I think.”

“Hmph.” He grunted, seeing the Emperor’s lips curl into a knowing smile. “We are nearing the outer bastion as identified by Chimera Intelligence. If the Exarchs have been able to make the gains they expected, we should find their gathered forces nearby.”

“As ever, my chimera,” The Emperor glanced at him, “You are correct, though I sense that there are not as many survivors as we would need to assault the central core of the city.”

They rounded the next bend and Connor stopped moving, looking down a long boulevard, a sneering mockery of the Path of Legends in Victory City, the black pavements strewn with hundreds of the Faithful, only a few dozen having managed to make it through the thousands of fallen Corrupted that lined the thoroughfare. The Guardian Prime nodded slowly as he watched the dead monsters being absorbed back into the city, their goop feeding ripples that flowed out horizontally towards other zones where the Chimera Army was attacking. He let Theo and the other Guardians move past him, crouching instead next to one of the dead chimeras, dressed in familiar ceremonial armor. _An Exarch, I know your face, so eager and excited to have been chosen among the ranks of the Faithful. You whispered something when you were leaving, thinking perhaps that I didn’t hear you: “Touched by a god,” that’s what you said, and now, this…this is your end? The Harvester will burn for a thousand years to repay the cost of all we have lost!_

“C’mon, Connor.” The Emperor gestured to him from beside the survivors. “The dead will have to wait.”

“I know.” The Guardian Prime pressed his palm against the Exarch’s chest, bowing his head. “I’ll come back for you, for all of you, the Chimera Empire will _know_ your sacrifice.” He stood up, ignoring Theo’s confused stare and returned to his master’s side. “What is Your command, Emperor?”

“One of your Exarchs made it,” The Alpha Chimera nodded at the bloodied chimera, and then turned towards the center of the city. “Those walls are getting taller and there’s some kind of smoke or smog that’s obstructing our view into the box the Harvester is hiding in. Last I heard from Corey, the artillery has been firing blind into the area, so let’s hope it’s been even a little effective. For now, gather our forces, and press on.”

“Yes, my master.” Connor bowed to him and faced the survivors. “Glory awaits us, Faithful! Rally your spirits and march with strength for you are in the divine presence of the chimera god Himself; the Supreme Emperor of Earth! For victory! For glory!” He roared out, seeing them jump to their feet, some hoisting aloft banners flying the Imperial sigil. “For the Empire!”

“See, Theo?” The Emperor whispered as Connor followed them up the sloping path to the first bastion. “They think that I’m a god, but they _believe_ in him, maybe take that into consideration the next time you try flirting with my favourite chimera! The Exarchs of the Faithful aren’t exactly your biggest fans; a single misstep and who knows what might befall you?”

“Uh huh, whatever you say,” The First Chimera paused, glancing over his shoulder into the burning purple gaze of the Guardian Prime. “Emperor.”

 

The merged form of the twins followed the Dragon as they threaded through the sky over the battlefield, dodging around the squadrons of other flying chimeras supporting the main army in their advance on the Harvester’s city. “Over here!” Nick called out, gesturing down into a clear space among the throngs of Corrupted and chimeras, a tall tower belching out the slick, black goop that infected everything around them. “Prepare to land!”

“Understood!” The merged chimera responded, wings beating as they flipped their ice-armored, naked body into a vertical position, gliding down to land next to the Legendary chimera. “This is it?”

“Orders are to destroy it by any means,” Nick nodded, staring at the strange construction, its surface more liquid than solid matter, thick beads of goo rolling down the sides of the tower. “I figured fire and ice ought to be enough; we were able to shred the Ghost Riders’ siege engines with those elements, maybe it’ll work this time.”

“We should do this from the air.” The twins said, pointing at the slowly turning Corrupted nearby, breaking away from fighting the human loyalists that were threatening to break through the cordon around the tower. “They’re coming for us.”

“Good.” The Dragon growled, eyes alight with purple fire as actual flames exploded from his torso, racing up his arms to fan out across his shoulders, a glowing red halo casting his face into shadow. “Begin your work, I have been looking forward to purging these foul creatures from our Empire! Argh!” He darted forward, punching wildly, flaming fists sinking into the goop of the Corrupted for a moment before they erupted in fire themselves, allowing Nick to twirl away, drawing them further from the twins.

 _”It’s time, Josh,”_ Jason spoke to him through the mind link, his voice muffled as though coming from the room next to him. _”Get us into the air, fly circles around the tower and I’ll use my ice to break it down.”_

Josh, however, was staring at a group of Corrupted nearby; they were small, tiny even, too short in stature to be adults. _”Children.”_ He muttered, unmoving even as Jason tried to force them to, getting lost in the memory of the child he had killed by accident all those weeks ago. The chimera blinked, pulled out of his thoughts when he watched the smaller Corrupted launch themselves at a group of human loyalists, spines of goop extending outwards to shred the Faithful to pieces. _”Fuck!”_

 _”Finally!_ Jason whispered in an annoyed tone as they took to the air once more, his brother’s wings bringing them in closer to the tower. He could see the Dragon below them, a gout of flame ripping through the ranks of Corrupted that threatened to surround him, but Jason knew that Nick could handle it, turning his attention instead to the Harvester’s bizarre construction. One of the sluice gates on the upper portion of the tower slid up and a cascade of goop spilled out, splashing down towards the ground. The merged chimera held their hands out, ice crystals rippling down muscular arms to fire out in a jet of super-cooled air, cutting through the edge of the goop. They grinned as Jason applied more ice to the weapon, shards of frozen water spiking the beam while Josh flapped his wings faster beginning to draw Nick’s nearby fire into the mix. 

The Dragon seemed to get the message as he launched himself into the air, dozens of dead Corrupted around his feet. “Good, keep going, follow my lead!” He called out, directing a stream of blue-almost white-fire towards the tower, spiralling around it as he flew towards the base, the twins trailing behind him, Jason’s icy shards ripping open gaping wounds in the structure as Nick weakened its goop-covered skin. “That’s it, keep the pressure up!”

“We got this!” The merged chimera roared, eyes blazing as they completed the final loop, the base of the tower cracking and shattering, causing the rest of the construct to waver in the air before falling apart in a fountain of goop, revealing its strangely organic skeletal structure seconds before collapsing in on itself. They both flew backwards quickly to avoid the flood of grasping goo, looking around the battlefield as they heard a deafening wail of pain from the Corrupted nearby. “What the hell is that?!”

“Proof of something the Chimera Intelligence suspected all along,” The Dragon explained as he turned around, heading towards the next tower across the battlefield, the twins flying alongside him. “They believed that those things are tied to the Harvester on a deeper level than being simple goo factories, that maybe they act as antennas for the monster to expand its influence across the world.”

“So, the more we take down, the easier it will be for the Emperor to kill the Harvester?” The merged chimera grinned. “Let’s go faster!” 

 

“Copy that, Exarch Maximilian, we are redirecting forces to your location now, standby.” Garrett glanced at Corey as he spoke, the mobile command center having become so busy that he could no longer just stand guard. “He’s requesting fire support for the right flank, Corey.”

“What? That’s Theo’s position, he shouldn’t be under strain.” Corey frowned and moved around the other operators as they fielded requests from across the battlefield. “Show me the latest video feed of the right flank…Fuck, the Corrupted are breaking through!”

“How bad is that?”

“It’s close to our position,” Corey mumbled, looking up as several of the other chimeras cheered. “What is it?”

“Archon Jackson and Alexander report that their combined push has collapsed the left flank of the Corrupted army and our forces are streaming into the city from that location.” The operator grinned at him. “They’re moving ahead and will continue to press their advantage, hoping to meet up with the Emperor and Guardian Prime in the center of the city.”

“Good, direct the artillery to resume their bombard of the city center, so far none of our forces have made it inside that zone, so it should still be safe enough to shell.” Corey ordered, turning back to Garrett. “Ok, um, I think we have some reserves at-”

A sudden, loud explosion outside made the command vehicle shake and threw most of the chimeras and humans off their seats, the Löwenmensch managing to grab Corey before he fell over. Before they could question the detonation, the sound of clawing and banging could be heard on the exterior of the truck. Garrett swore under his breath and glared at the driver. “Get us out of here!”

“But the hard-line connections are grounded-”

“I don’t care!” He roared, steadying Corey. “Drive now! There are Corrupted outside!”

Corey looked towards the rear door, the only part of the interior with a window, seeing a many-limbed monster hurling itself against the armored entrance. “Yeah, Jack, get moving!” He glanced at Garrett as his boyfriend flicked out his claws, eyes glowing red, the other operators standing up to fight, chimeras readying themselves as the humans among them pulled out guns and nodded determinedly at him. “Ok, hopefully we can get to-argh!” Corey was interrupted again as the truck smashed into some sort of obstacle and flipped over, computers and monitors and equipment crashing around him as Garrett once more managed to grab him, holding tight to the Löwenmensch’s strong arms. When the command center had stopped rolling, Corey opened his eyes, looking around to see several of the human operators were dead, blood dripping from vicious head wounds as the chimeras climbed to their feet, shaking off their injuries.

“Are you alright?” Garrett asked, patting Corey down carefully.

“Fine, but I guess everyone is on their own now in terms of fire support.” He spat out a mouthful of blood, enhanced healing kicking in as he tongued at a loose tooth. “C’mon, let’s make our way into the city, guys.”

“Uh, Minister?”

“Huh? Aw, fuck.” Corey groaned, seeing several Corrupted oozing their way in from the smashed cockpit, Jack’s dead body mangled by a long, goop-covered spike that had pierced right through the cab of the truck. “Get ready to fight!”

“I’m always ready!” Garrett snarled, looking instead at the rear exit as the buckled door was ripped off its hinges and more Corrupted monsters climbed inside. “Rawwr!” He roared, charging forward to smash into the nearest one, grabbing its neck and imploding its head against the wall, his claws shredding the next monster’s head completely off its body. Garrett glanced behind him to make sure Corey was following, several of the other operators already fighting; fire and earth exploding in the confined spaces of the ruined command center. “C’mon!”

“I’m here!” Corey nodded, reaching forward to grab Garrett’s hand and cloaked them both, his other hand extending back to grasp the nearest chimera, a line of them interconnected and invisible as the Löwenmensch cleared a path for them to escape. One of the humans managed to survive, looking at the Minister for Chimera Intelligence with a grin and held up a grenade. “Do it!” Corey gestured, watching the explosive sail through the air and detonate inside the truck, taking several dozen of the Corrupted with it as the fuel tanks went up. 

Once they were through enemy lines and had found some chimeras to shield them, Corey released their hands and the group emerged, bloodied and bruised, though alive. Garrett glared at the city in front of them, the Chimera Army marching steadily towards another breach made by the Guardian of the Ancient World. “That was fucking close!”

“Tell me about it, Theo and I are gonna have a serious talk later.” Corey growled, his expression furious. “For now, let’s continue on, we should try and link up with the Emperor and Connor in the center of the city.”

 

Jackson glanced at Lydia as Alexander divided his forces into search teams, obviously looking for something that Stiles had ordered him to find. The Banshee was pale, her breathing ragged and she lent against him for support when they stopped at the entrance to the second ring of the city, the wall smashed asunder by other advancing chimeras. “What’s wrong?”

“I can hear them, I can hear them all…” Lydia whispered, eyes wide as she stared into the distance.

“What?” The Archon glanced around. “I don’t hear anything, even the sounds of the battle are muted here. Is it a, um, Banshee thing?”

“Probably.” Alexander nodded, returning to them, his expression concerned. “I knew coming back was a mistake, Lydia shouldn’t see any more war than she already has.”

“Then why did you return?”

“She insisted,” The other Archon put his arm around her and began walking slowly up the street as Jackson followed them. “As soon as Lydia heard what was happening here, she wanted to come back, to fight, to show the Emperor that He had her support, no matter what…err, unpleasantness there had been with the traitor.”

“The…ah, Scott.” Jackson whispered, frowning suddenly at them. “I thought that the arrangement was for you not to say anything, that she had a backstory and you were to keep to it?”

“Yes,” He shrugged, a faint smile hovering around his lips. “But I’m sure you know that Lydia is a hell of a lot smarter than the rest of us. She can’t be certain of what happened to her, the Emperor’s science is beyond reproach, but she knows that some of His propaganda about the traitor was too perfectly villainous for the werewolf she knew him to be and Lydia read between the lines.”

“I still don’t understand,” Jackson replied, glancing at the frozen expression on the Banshee’s face. “If she suspects the dark truth, then why-”

“Because the Emperor is the most powerful force on the planet,” Alexander grinned, zealous fire in his purple eyes. “And she’s wise enough to know that there’s no going back to the old world; so, you might as well embrace the new one! Am I not correct, _Archon_ Jackson?”

“Point taken.” He muttered, holding up a hand as he smelt something familiar, looking over towards another entrance to this part of the Harvester’s city to see Liam and his ragged band of chimera werewolves wearily jog through the gateway. “Liam! Over here!”

“Jackson, good to see you.” Liam panted, hunched over as he caught his breath, a volley of howling artillery rockets coming over his head to smash into where he had just come from. The cluster of explosions collapsed the entrance and walls behind him, great clouds of black smoke billowing into the air. “Phew, that was intense, the outer city is flooding with Corrupted as they pull back, I think we’re winning.”

“Yeah, maybe. Where’s Philip? We could use the extra firepower that a Legendary chimera can bring.”

“No,” Liam shook his head, blinking back tears that threatened to fall. “The Corrupted attacked him, he’s been evacuated back to the medical center behind the lines, but this is all I have left. Your forces?”

“Mostly intact,” Archon Alexander answered. “Though dispersed on a quest from the Emperor, we’ll have to press on by ourselves.”

“Fine by me.” Liam nodded, his expression growing hard again, even as he glanced at Lydia. “Is she ok?”

“I can hear them all,” Lydia repeated in a hoarse whisper. “The screams and wails of the dead chimeras all around us, and the long, slow, screeching of the twisted minds of the not quite dead Corrupted. It’s too loud to bear.” She leaned against Alexander as they walked through deserted streets and over fallen debris created by the intense bombardment ordered by the Emperor prior to the attack. Lydia shuffled and startled constantly, looking around her as the voices and screaming of the dead crashed against her ears and mind in an unending cacophony. 

“What the hell?” Jackson whispered as they entered a wide square, the outer wall of the inner city dominating the background, a multitude of roads leading towards a barred gate. But between the chimeras and their destination was a massive sea of black goo, rippling and moving in the hot, still air, as though it had a mind of its own. In the center of the square, a hillock of goop had formed, the same glistening, black liquid covering it as the essence underfoot. But this mound was moving differently, Jackson stared in horror as he began to identify faces and hands, feet and claws, wings and tails, all stretching the surface of the hillock until finally it exploded upwards in a shower of the foul corruption. A true monster stood opposite them; many limbs, many heads, claws and feathers and scales all mangled together as it slowly took a step towards them. “Get ready to fight!”

 

“Haha!” Theo grinned at Connor as he smashed a Corrupted Elite into pulp, the Guardian Prime in his element, waves of righteous fury rolling through his scent. “You’re making it look so easy!”

“Hmm.” Connor grunted in reply, tossing the minor Corrupted aside as though they were leaves in the wind, moving back to protect Stiles, the Chimera Emperor walking calmly through the battle, the occasional spear of earth skewering a monster when it came too close, a crack of lightning to part the way in front of him when the other chimeras were too busy. “Press the advantage, Faithful!” The Guardian Prime roared out, picking up a fallen battle standard and using it to spear a Corrupted through the head, a shower of goop splashing against his once pristine armor, now fouled by the black essence. “Glory!”

Theo grinned wider, hurrying along on Stiles’ other side, though part of him was disappointed that the Corrupted did not bleed red. _Imagine what Connor would look like now if all that goop was blood!_ The First Chimera felt salvia fill his mouth and his cock harden in his pants even as he dispatched another monster with ease. _Well, I don’t have to imagine exactly, Connor looked like that through most of the war, I just never really noticed before, never appreciated him as I should have. Stiles can have him clean and polished like a perfect toy soldier, as long as I get the Guardian Prime when he’s covered in gore and blood and-_

“Theo!” Stiles’ shout pulled him from his day dream. “Less time thinking about your cock, and more time thinking about your enemy!”

“Uh, right.” Theo shrugged unapologetically, noticing that they had broken through to another part of the city while he was in his daze, a hundred chimeras joining their growing band; Exarchs and Generals bowing to Stiles and Connor both, only a few giving him the same treatment. The First Chimera grimaced and then brightened when he saw Connor shake his head, refusing the adoration and pointing towards Theo, sending the chimeras to bow in front of him instead. “Thank you, thank you!”

“That’s the gate to the inner city, master.” Connor said, staring at the dark, wooden construction. “Just about the only thing not made from goop around here.”

“Yes, I see it. Hardwood, from the forest, it’ll be tough, reinforced.” Stiles replied, glancing over his shoulder at a nearby square, eyes narrowing. “That’s Liam and Jackson! General Ravan, grab some chimeras and support them, they appear to be fighting some sort of monstrously large Corrupted.”

“As You command, Emperor!”

“Connor, break down that door.”

“Yes, Emperor.” The Guardian Prime smirked and took a few steps back, glancing at Theo, before charging forward, directing his shoulder into the center of the wooden barrier. He grunted as the impact wracked through him and rippled across the door, causing the wall next to him to crumble and break, liquid goop spilling out as though he had inflicted a deep cut. Connor growled under his breath and stepped back again, running into the door for a second time, nodding to himself as the hinges squealed in protest and long cracks appeared in the dark wood. The third time he charged the door, the wood gave out completely and splintered around him, Connor’s momentum driving him through the broken portal and into the street on the other side, collapsing onto his knees. “Ugh…ow.”

“Are you alright?” Theo called out, climbing into the breach first. He was about to touch Connor’s shoulder to check on him when instinctively, Theo threw himself backwards, a long circular saw slicing soundlessly past his face, inches from his nose and disappearing into the wall opposite him. “Fuck! There are traps here!”

“Yes,” Connor got to his feet slowly, grimacing as he pulled a long splinter of wood from his forearm, his gauntlet buckled and separated, blood spilling onto the ground. “Argh, we must be careful as we advance, Emperor.”

Theo turned, seeing Stiles and several other chimeras stepping through the shattered barrier. “That means we’re close to the Harvester though, right?”

“Yeah,” The Emperor nodded, glaring at the black smoke that still hung over the center of the city. “And if this damn smog would ever lift we’d be able to see just what the Harvester has been up to as we fought our way here. Chimeras, scout out the area ahead!”

 

They moved forward slowly, carefully, inching along a path that was circular in nature, winding tightly towards the middle of the city, the Harvester’s many traps were simple but effective. Stiles ducked another circular disc that would have decapitated him, rolling out of the way, just as ten of his chimeras were sliced in half by a volley of hidden blades from a nearby wall. “Fuck!”

“Keep moving.” Connor urged them onwards, still holding aloft the banner of the Empire, the blood red symbol fluttering in the wind that Stiles borrowed from an air Elemental nearby. “Watch out!” The Guardian Prime stepped in front of Stiles suddenly, grunting and falling to one knee as a large spike fired out from the wall in front of them, burying itself in his chest. “Argh!”

“Connor!” Stiles crouched next to him, eyes burning purple. But the chimera waved him off, standing up and pulling the barbed point out of his armor with an irritated growl. “You keep this up and you’ll have no armor left!”

“It’s nothing, master, see?” He glanced at Stiles, offering his hand, only a few spots of blood visible amid the hardened goop. “Your life always comes first.”

“Are you ok?” Theo hurried over, ducking quickly when another trap was triggered above him. “This place is insane!”

“We’re nearly through.” Stiles patted his shoulder, “We may not have many chimeras left, but the others will come, and the Harvester is close, I can feel it.”

“Mmh, but-” Theo’s words were cut off when he tried to follow them through a tunnel, a giant metal ball smashed into his ribs, the weapon swinging back and forth on a long chain. “Ugh, guys…”

“C’mon, First Chimera,” Connor hauled him upright, throwing his arm around Theo’s shoulder and helping him to hobble towards the exit. He paused, eyes narrowed as the scent of burning reached him, turning in time to shield Theo from the twin jets of black, smoky fire that streamed out from the wall nearest them. He hugged the chimera to his chest, ignoring Theo’s struggling as the back of his armor began to buckle and crumple in the inferno. “Ah!”

Stiles had managed to get through and was waiting on the other side, staring at something out of view. “You guys really need to see this!”

“Working on it, Stiles!” Theo shouted at him, crushed against Connor’s armor as the Guardian Prime tried to spare him from the sticky, napalm-like flames that were now coating his shoulders and arms, melting through the composite armor. “Kinda in the middle of something here!”

“Go!” Connor grunted, throwing Theo out towards the Emperor, ignoring the searing pain from the fire as it cracked open portions of his armor and seeped hungrily inside, roasting his flesh and causing his blood to boil, even as his rapid healing kicked into gear. The Guardian Prime walked steadily forward, the gelled flames licking around his arms and torso, making him look even more fearsome than before, until they were extinguished by Stiles, a blast of icy air covering him. “Thank You, master.”

“As much as I love barbeque, now is not the time.” Stiles smirked and reached over to caress Connor’s cheek and neck affectionately, ignoring the smoke-stained skin and charred ash sticking to his armor. “I need you, we both do, especially since I have no idea how we’re meant to take the Harvester out of _that._ ”

 

The three of them turned and looked up at the imposing structure that had been transformed from the large square box at the center of the city into a tall, crenelated fortress, rising up through the fog of black smoke to end in spires and glistening, goo-slick towers. The Harvester’s goop was reshaping it before their eyes, adding more battlements and carving a moat dozens of feet deep around the entire building, cutting it off from the chimeras. Theo was the first to react, nodding at the fortress, “Well, clearly the Harvester is afraid of us!”

“Hmm, perhaps.” Connor frowned, looking at the one entrance to the fortress across a narrow walkway over the moat. “Though it’s left us a way to come in, which means this is more likely a trap than anything else, master.”

“Agreed.” Stiles turned away and looked back at the city behind them, still feeling the loss each time a chimera died, a thousand cuts chipping away at his strength. “We need our army, our friends, and they’re out there, I can feel them coming towards us, but not quietly enough. They cannot see where we are, so let’s clear their way!” The Chimera Emperor glanced at both of them, his eyes burning a little brighter, cruel grin pulling at his lips as he drew his arm back and knelt suddenly, smashing his fist into the ground, an earthquake shattering the area in front of them. 

The force washed outwards across the city in an undulating surge, causing walls to buckle and collapse, fountains of molten lava bursting upwards when the shockwave passed over weak ground to consume the goop and form a pathway for the others to follow. Stiles straightened up, smirking to himself when he could finally see his loyal soldiers. Jackson and Liam were still engaged with the monstrous chimera, while Brett was running towards Corey and Garrett, the twins and Dragon sweeping down to join them near the largest tower of goop that still stood. The interior walls of the Harvester’s city were nothing but gooey rubble and the Chimera Emperor stood up, raising his arms as his eyes flared purple. _Come, my chimeras! It is time to end this!_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All things going well, there should be no more interruptions to my finishing of this story in about a month’s time. The next chapter will also be combat-focused and then the final three will wrap up the story and character plot points for all involved. Thanks for reading!


	12. Nemesis

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please note that the following chapter contains scenes of graphic violence, fantasy violence, and one scene of particularly gory detail at the end of chapter that some readers may find disturbing.

Nick landed heavily, his burning wings sweeping back the goop that sucked at his feet from the fallen walls around them. The Dragon could see across the Harvester’s city now, groups of chimeras and loyalists battling the Corrupted, all the way to where a massive, black, goop-covered structure rose up into the sky, its peak lost in the thunderclouds. It was glistening in a most unnerving way, but Nick’s attention snapped back to the blazing beacon of power at the foot of the citadel, the Chimera Emperor’s purple orbs visible even from this distance, so close to the outer walls. 

“Hey!” The twins glided to a stop next to him, wings of transparent air flapping gently to keep them aloft. “What just happened?”

“The Emperor’s power made manifest.” Nick growled. “He calls for us, the final battle must be close.”

“What about that?” The merged chimera pointed towards a nearby tower of goop that was still vomiting out foul ooze. “It’s the biggest we’ve ever seen, maybe we should finish our mission before joining the Emperor?”

“Yes, that’s a good idea.” Nick gestured for them to follow and he took to the air again, flying low and fast over the ruined walls and collapsing houses of the Harvester’s city. He looked down, watching the battles as they played out under him, occasionally pausing to deliver a handful of corrosive flames to bail out a group of chimeras, or swing his body around to smash his fire-covered legs through a pack of the Corrupted. The Dragon landed in the middle of a goop-slick street beside Brett, seeing him kneeling next to dozens of corpses of the Faithful, but he swung around and shot out lances of fire into the oncoming Corrupted before addressing the chimera hero. “Brett?”

“Nick? Phew, we were close to being overrun.” The chimera wiped trickling blood from his face, the wounds healing slowly, deep gashes across his chest and neck. “Any more of you or is it just the twins?”

“You don’t need any more than us.” The merged chimera landed nearby, grinning cockily. 

“I just lost my entire fighting force, show a little respect.” Brett snapped at them, accepting Nick’s hand to stand up. “The ramparts were a lot harder to clear than we expected; lots of Corrupted Elites, but it’s done, the rest of the army can begin their advance.”

“You should come with us,” The Dragon said, pointing towards the goop tower. “We still have to take that out, but you’ll be waiting a while for the Chimera Army to arrive, there’s still pitched battles outside the city.”

“The Emperor calls us to His side.”

“Perhaps, but there’s a lot of city between one chimera and our master.” Nick shrugged, wings beginning to flap again. “Come with us if you wish, Brett.”

“Yeah, ok.” He sighed and flicked out his claws again. “You fly ahead, just like when you came in, stay low and I’ll pick my way through the streets. Some seem to be full of lava, and others are being blocked by falling buildings.”

“We’ll clear a path.” The merged chimera assured him, jumping into the air with a whisper of force, Josh’s air Elemental powers lifting them with virtually no effort. “Don’t worry.”

“Mmh.” Brett nodded and set off, the two flying chimeras moving out ahead of him. 

 

Corey glared at the streets around them, Garrett and the ragged band of surviving operators encircling the Minister for Chimera Intelligence were taking a breather after the intensity of the fighting behind them. “This all looks the same, I can feel the Emperor’s command to join him, but I don’t see a path through the goop.”

“Most of the internal walls have fallen, Minister.” The scout Corey had sent out returned with a bow. “But there’s pools of lava between any direct path to the Emperor. Groups of chimeras are making their way around the city to the east and west.”

“Are there no ice Elementals left?”

“None that I could see,” The chimera swallowed hard. “Just a lot of bodies, the Corrupted aren’t leaving anything behind them except puddles of goop so I can’t tell how many they’ve lost, only how many we have.”

“A lot?” Garrett asked, standing next to Corey. 

“Yes, sir, I counted several hundred chimeras, and the same, if not more, Faithful.”

“The Empire will pay a heavy price for this victory.” Corey muttered, dismissing the scout with a wave. He nodded for Garrett to come closer, lowering his voice. “We still need to get to Stiles, but I don’t want to risk these chimeras’ lives, they’re used to operating in a command center not fighting in the middle of a battle!”

“They’ll be fine: all chimeras were designed for war.” The Löwenmensch assured him, placing his hands onto Corey’s shoulders. “And you will be too, I’m not leaving your side, Corey.”

“Ok, um, let’s-”

“Incoming!” One of the chimeras nearby screamed and threw himself onto the ground just as the Dragon swooped down through the clouds of smoke rising from the east. 

“Relax, it’s one of ours!” Corey yelled back, moving away from Garrett to walk over to Nick, grinning. “Glad to see you, we could use the extra firepower.”

“Not just mine.” Nick gestured behind him, Brett and the merged twins coming out of the smoke to stand next to him. “It’s good that you’re alive, Minister. The Emperor would not be happy if He lost you.”

“Understatement,” Garrett muttered as Corey smirked. “Have you found a way to the center, our scout reports that it’s blocked by pools of lava.”

“That’s right,” Brett sighed. “But there might be a way through on the western flank, there’s a lot of goop still being produced by one of the towers. Nick thinks that if we take it out, we should be able to secure a path for our forces to converge with the Emperor.”

“Ok, let’s do it.” Corey signalled for his chimeras to stand up and move out. He glanced at Brett as the two flying chimeras launched into the air again, and the group made their way towards the tower on foot. “Are there none of the Faithful left, Brett?”

“Not from my battalion, no.” He sighed. “It was a massacre, but they did not die in vain, or give up their lives so easily. When this is over, I’ll make sure the bodies are collected, the Guardian Prime will want to honor the dead and commend their sacrifice.”

“I imagine so,” Corey was about to continue when Garrett touched his shoulder and the younger chimera looked at him, the Löwenmensch nodding grimly at the tower that rose up ahead of them from the collapsed buildings around it. “That’s it. This was the largest growing structure from the surveillance we were able to gather, quite possibly the first such tower. Taking it out will make a difference.”

“How can you be sure?”

“Before the Command Center was overrun, Nick managed to communicate back to us that our theory was right: the towers are intrinsically linked to the Harvester on some level. The Corrupted went crazy when the first tower went down,” Corey explained. “They started to attack each other, or just wander around dazed, we even got reports that some of them straight up exploded and returned to the goop that they were made from.”

“Our forces could use that advantage right now.” Brett nodded eagerly, his eyes glowing with purple fire. A grin pulled at his lips as another group of about thirty surviving chimeras and loyalists met up with them, the wounded Exarch leading them nodded at Corey and Brett, a weary smile passing across her face. “Sara, you’re alive!”

“Just about.” The chimera’s body was covered in a dense forest of dark spines, becoming larger and more fearsome looking along her back. “Some heavy loses, this is all I have left.”

“It’ll have to be enough.” Garrett growled, his eyes flaring red before fading back to purple, lowering himself into an offensive posture as dozens of Corrupted pulled themselves out of the lake of goop that surrounded the tower. “They’re coming!”

“Faithful!” Sara called out, turning to address her chimeras. “We fight for the glory of the Empire and the divine Chimera Emperor! Let the might of His holy connection flow through you! Remember the words of His most beloved Prophet, and we shall triumph! CHARGE!”

“Uh…” Corey stared at them as the Faithful were riled up into a seething, screaming mass of zealots, dashing forward with no concern for their own lives into the waiting ranks of Corrupted. He glanced to one side as Brett charged the line too, reason forgotten as duty took over. Corey shrugged and pointed his small force around the battle towards their objective. “C’mon, while they’re distracted, we’ll attack the tower.”

“Reading my mind.” Garrett grinned and joined Corey in racing around the fighting chimeras, seeing Nick and the twins already attacking the structure, streams of fire and ice cutting through the goop-covered outer layer of the tower as even more goo dripped down from the open gates on its sides. “Let the Elementals do their thing, we’ll concentrate on forcing the tower to keep creating more monsters, see if we can’t wear it out!”

“Ok.”

 

The merged chimera followed Nick around the tower, Jason’s beam of ice shards slicing through the fiery wounds that the Dragon was leaving. It had become a familiar dance and he glanced away for a moment to check on the progress of the battle under them. _”Looks like the Faithful are actually winning! Maybe their belief really does help morale.”_

 _”Can we concentrate on defeating this tower, please? It feels like my mind is trying to turn itself inside out when you do that.”_ Josh growled at him internally. The chimera shook their head and the cutting stream of ice faltered for a few seconds.

“What are you doing?! We’re nearly through!” Nick called out in front of them, glancing over his shoulder and directing a plume of fire towards the exposed organic structure of the tower. “Here!”

 _“Grrr!”_ Jason snarled, smashing his hands together and directing the wave of ice into the heart of the goop factory. There was a horrible keening sound as the tower collapsed in on itself, the superstructure falling apart in seconds and crashing down into a lake of goop. The Corrupted battling the chimeras under them wailed in a ghostly echo of the tower, their assault faltering and allowing the Faithful to kill them with ease. _“Haha! Yes!”_

“Fall back!” The Dragon cried out, waving his hands frantically at the twins as a sudden surge of the black goop shot out and crashed into the merged chimera, cutting off their celebrations. “No!” Nick stared as they were dragged down, completely submerged in the goo before his eyes. As he began to gather flames on his arms to Firestorm the area, Josh was fired out of the goo, encased in an ice prison that shattered as soon as he hit the ground next to Corey. “Where’s Jason?!”

“He’s still in there!” The air Elemental chimera cried out, helped to his feet by Garrett. “He saved me, but I-”

“Enough!” The Dragon roared, wings fully expanded as churning waves of flame coursed down his arms and crashed into the lake of goop, his eyes blazing a brighter purple than Josh had ever seen before. The younger chimera quickly fed streams of air to the inferno, the fire burning away the outer layer of goo, revealing Jason’s naked body, already sliced and torn open by the questing knives of the Harvester’s essence. Nick dropped down like a stone, pulling the barely conscious chimera into his arms and flying back to where Jason's brother was standing nearby.

“Fuck! What’s happening to him!”

“The ooze is eating at his skin.” Corey explained, kneeling down to feel Jason’s pulse, his skin blood-slick, the rest of his body pale and still. “He’s alive, but I’ve seen this before, it’s what the Guardian Prime was attacked by when he went missing. We were able to destroy it using the Green Serum, but we don’t have any of that here.”

“I remember.” Nick growled. “But there has to be something we can do.”

“His wounds will close, and the corruption will be trapped inside him.” Corey muttered, gesturing for one of his operators to come over. “I’ll call for an Osprey to come pick him up, take him back to the staging post where the other wounded are. Once we defeat the Harvester, he’ll be ok.”

“Are you sure?” Josh wailed, clutching his brother’s fingers and cradling Jason's face in his free hand. “I can’t lose him!”

“Trust me.” Corey looked at him, nodding determinedly as the operator behind him relayed their position. He glanced at Nick, seeing the Dragon’s wings expand again. “You can’t go, Nick, we need you, we’ve already lost one Legendary chimera from the battlefield.”

“Fine.” He growled, closing his eyes as he felt the Emperor’s pull again. “Let’s end this; there’s a path to that citadel through the street over there.” The Legendary chimera opened his eyes again when he felt the downdraft of the Osprey’s rotors above him, looking down at his boyfriend. “I’ll see you on the other side, Jason.”

 

Liam launched himself into the air with help from Jackson, his claws lashing out, targeting the monster’s flailing forest of limbs and scything through them with ease. He landed behind Lydia, the Banshee screaming at the creature, compressed sound waves managing to blow a hole in the mottled skin that covered the abomination, allowing one of the nearby Exarch’s reinforcements to channel electricity into the cavity. They jumped back when the goop-slick surface rippled and another part of the monster took over, rolling into the path of Alexander, Jackson managing to pull him out of the way of the great, crushing weight even as two other chimeras weren’t so lucky. 

“We almost have it down!” Liam called to the group, ripping through the dangly limbs from a dozen different creatures and people, more sprouting from the creature’s main body as he spoke.

“Really?” Jackson grunted, kicking back at a head that appeared suddenly in front of him, the jaw stretching horribly. “I’m not seeing it!”

“Ah!” Lydia cried out, staggering backwards as a talon sliced her thigh open. She pressed her hands to the wound, feeling blood spill out between her fingers. “Fuck!”

“What is it?” Alexander turned to her, his expression becoming serious. The Archon tore off his shirt and wrapped it tightly around her leg, grimacing when she screamed in pain. “I’m sorry, but you don’t heal like us. It’ll have to do, just make sure none of the goop gets inside that injury.”

“I, I know.” Lydia said shakily, turning in time to see Jackson and Liam join forces with the remainder of the Exarch’s chimeras to rip a deep hole into the abomination’s stomach, their gasps of revulsion at the mixed ooze and organic insides falling quiet when the electrical chimera filled the wound with his power, leaving behind nothing but charred flesh. The monster screamed out, an unearthly cry that made Lydia queasy, hearing both it and the dozens of humans and animals that made up the goo-covered monstrosity wailing at the same time. “We need to leave…”

“Agreed!” The Archon waved to Liam and Jackson, as the Exarch’s forces nodded at him, the chimeras staying behind to secure the square. “Let’s go! The door to the inner city has been breached; converge on the Emperor’s position!”

Liam pulled Jackson up from where he had fallen, a deep scrape gouged into his arm by one of the monster’s trailing limbs. “You ok?”

“Yeah, let’s keep moving.” Jackson grunted, accepting the other chimera’s arm and leaned on it as they hobbled away. There was blood spilling from wounds across his shins, and the Archon groaned as he looked over his shoulder, “Fucking thing is getting back up!”

“Go!” The Exarch called out, rallying his forces to his side. “We’ll hold the monster off, get to the Emperor!” 

Lydia looked back at the soldiers, confirming Jackson and Liam were behind her as she and Alexander limped across the causeway that had opened up between them and the broken door leading to the inner city. The group crossed the threshold just as the wailing stopped and the monster started attacking the Exarch’s forces again. “Come on, we’re close to him.”

“How can you tell?” Alexander asked, directing them around one of the few remaining structures inside the otherwise decimated heart of the Harvester’s city. “I’ve lost sight of the Emperor, but I can still feel His pull guiding me in.”

“The currents of death swim around him,” Lydia gasped, pain shooting up her leg through the now blood-sodden shirt. “Thousands have died on his command, St…the Alpha Chimera might be a beacon of light to you, but all I see is a black hole, consuming all around him.”

“Err, maybe chalk that up to the pain?” Jackson suggested nervously as they picked their way through shattered traps and broken mechanisms towards the now visible Chimera Emperor. “He won’t like hearing that he’s being compared to a black hole!”

“Yeah, I got it.” Alexander muttered, easing Lydia down onto the ground, as Jackson and Liam went ahead to meet the First Chimera and Guardian Prime. “Can you go on? I’m sure I can find some way to get you back to the staging post if-”

“No,” Lydia cut him off and climbed to her feet grimly. “I’m seeing this through to the bitter end. If we fail here, my Mom will be in danger, I’m not letting that happen while I still have air in my lungs.”

 

The Chimera Emperor smiled as Liam led his group towards him, the chimera looking bloodied and sore, though Stiles didn’t notice any broken bones or serious wounds as he gestured for Liam to come closer. “You survived, at least. Philip?”

“Corrupted got him, managed to get him back to the staging post, but it’s bad.” Liam wiped a hand across his smoke-stained forehead and grimaced up at the fortress. “The Harvester is in there?”

“That’s right.” Connor answered for him. “Along with a few surprises, no doubt.”

“I think I’ve had just about enough surprises for one day.” The voice came from behind them, and Stiles turned around, grinning when Corey, Garrett, and Brett emerged from the street nearby. “Hey guys.”

Stiles nodded happily at him, watching as Nick and Josh arrived a moment later, his expression becoming soberer when he saw their faces. “Jason?”

“That last tower of goop was almost sentient,” Nick explained, bowing before the Emperor, “It reached out and grabbed the twins, Jason saved Josh, but couldn’t do the same for himself. The Minister for Chimera Intelligence managed to get an Osprey into the warzone, but the wounds are bad, master, similar to the Guardian Prime’s when he was taken by the Harvester.”

“Bad indeed,” Connor muttered from his position behind Stiles. “That only strengthens our resolve to finish this quickly. They have at most a few hours before they become Corrupted, a process we do not know how to reverse.”

“You’re right,” Stiles agreed, turning to look at the single bridge over the deep moat that separated them from the fortress. “We should advance. Brett, have your chimeras hold position here, buy as much time as they can because I’m certain that when we enter the Harvester’s last bastion of retreat, they’re all going to stop fighting and charge straight here.”

“As You command, Emperor.” Brett bowed deeply to Stiles’ back and turned around, calling out, “Exarch Sara, a word!”

“Master,” Connor spoke quietly next to him, Theo coming over to listen in. “We must be careful, this seems like an obvious trap.”

“Perhaps,” Stiles nodded. “But unless you have wings you’ve been hiding from me, Connor, it’s the only way for ground-based chimeras to cross over.”

“Err, hang on, Emperor,” Theo placed his hand on Stiles’ arm, the title sounding strange coming from his lips, almost mocking if Stiles didn’t see right through it to the obvious ploy for the Guardian Prime’s approval. “Connor has a point: remember those fire traps a while ago? If he hadn’t been there, I would’ve been fried to a crisp.”

“It’s the only way.” Stiles replied stubbornly. “I have not sacrificed the lives of thousands of our people to turn away now. We’ll all cross together and deal with whatever trap the Harvester decides to spring on us.”

“As You command, Emperor.” The Guardian Prime bowed his head low, feeling Theo’s eyes linger on his smoke and blood-streaked form. “I’ll tell everyone to get ready.”

“Theo?” Stiles watched with a smirk as the First Chimera’s gaze snapped back to him with a flush of his cheeks. “I do not know what we will find in there, or if this might be the last time we’ll be-”

“Stiles, it’ll work.” Theo assured him, grinning and moving his hands down to hold his fingers lightly. “We’re about to break those doors down and wreck whatever the Harvester has waiting for us. We’ve got the right group, the right leader, and we got Connor: face it, the guy is virtually indestructible!”

“Let’s hope we don’t have to prove that theory today.” Stiles smiled again and glanced at the chimeras and Lydia as they lined up behind him. “You all know I enjoy giving a good speech, but we don’t really have time right now,” The Emperor nodded at Liam and Josh, turning towards the bridge. “Onwards to victory!” Stiles walked confidently forward, Theo and Connor joining him as the rest of the chimeras filled along after him, Corey giving the Alpha Chimera a slight frown. “It’ll be fine, nothing could possibly-” His words were cut off by a sudden creak and groan, the bridge buckling and then turning to liquid beneath their feet. “Well, shit!” Stiles had just enough time to see Corey roll his eyes at him before they were falling into the abyss.

 

Connor managed to grab his master’s hand as he fell, pulling the Emperor into a protective hug, arms wrapped around His back as they plunged into the deep moat. He couldn’t look around to see who else was in danger; his sole concern was guarding the Emperor from injury. The chimera cried out in pain as he smashed into the ground, the rocky surface of the moat wasn’t covered in the goo that coated the rest of the city and a particularly sharp stone cut deep, puncturing through Connor’s already damaged armor near his spine. The Guardian Prime’s arms fell to his side and the Emperor rolled off him, unhurt. “Ahh…”

“It’s alright, Connor, look at me.” His master was smiling at him, cradling his face in both hands as his eyes blinked. “That’s it, give it a moment, you’re just healing.”

“The others?”

“Yeah, they’re fine; a few cuts and bruises that I’ll get to in a minute, Alexander managed to protect Lydia when they fell, I don’t think she would have survived a fall from that height otherwise.”

“Mmh.” Connor grunted, frowning as he concentrated on the patch of daylight far above them. He shook his head and rolled over, trying to ignore the numbness that flooded his fingers and toes, standing slowly instead, accepting his master’s arm to help him up. “Thank You, Emperor.”

“Uh, any sympathy for me?” Theo called out, sitting nearby, his arm hanging at an unnatural angle, his face covered in blood. “Hello?!”

“We see you, Theo.” The Emperor smirked, walking over to the First Chimera as Connor limped after Him. “Like I said; a few cuts and bruises! The one on your forehead is already healed, see?”

“Yeah, but-argh!” Theo cried out when Connor reached down and popped his arm back into the socket. “You could’ve warned me!”

“Calm yourself,” Connor whispered, kneeling suddenly and placing one armored hand onto the ground. “It’s too hot, master, the Harvester must have uncovered Your trap.”

“How close to the surface is that magma?” Corey asked, coming over to them as Garrett checked on Liam and Jackson. “Are we in danger?”

“It could erupt at any moment, I feel only a thin layer of rock between it and us.” Connor explained, eyes pulsing purple as his terrakinetic abilities activated. The Guardian Prime hauled Theo upright as he stood, releasing the First Chimera and then walked over to the wall of the moat that was closest to the citadel. “But here, there’s something hollow here, perhaps some kind of dungeons?”

“Then let’s break in,” The Emperor joined him, both of them placing their hands against the rock. “The rest of you stand back, I don’t know what might come out of here.”

Connor closed his eyes, feeling his master pull on the power they shared, multiplying it, and passing it back to him. “Now!” The Guardian Prime cried out, pushing his hands away from each other, the rock face splitting in half like two doors sliding apart. The space beyond was grey and cool, lit only by a dim light somewhere far above them. Connor held the rock apart as the Emperor ushered everyone else inside, stepping in after them and holding the way open so he could follow. “Thank You, Emperor.”

“You’re welcome.” The Alpha Chimera muttered, looking around the room. He pointed at a set of stairs that led upwards. “This way, c’mon, the Harvester cannot run from us now!”

 

“There’s nothing here,” Corey whispered as they climbed higher through the fortress, looking around at empty rooms and arenas. “It’s as though the Harvester expected us to take longer to break through its defenses.”

“It should have known better,” Theo grinned. “Nothing can resist the might of the Chimera Empire! I’ll look forward to teaching that monster all about our dominance over this world when we catch up to it!”

“Hmm,” Corey grunted, choosing not to reply to Theo’s words, frowning instead at the unusual architecture. “I feel like we’re back in Ka’narack, it’s very Egyptian.”

“I was thinking that it looked almost Medieval.” Garrett replied, “It reminds me of the European castles I used to visit as a child. Very odd, since the Harvester was meant to have been imprisoned in the Nemeton by the druids, right?”

“Maybe,” Corey shrugged as they climbed yet another flight of stairs in the dense, eerily quiet air. “The Maw didn’t really give us any answers, not that I’d expect it to know, and Connor never said, either. We just know it was driven north by the chimeras and the Overmind when the Pathologist first created the Harvester.”

“Hmm, but-”

“Shush!” Stiles glared at them as Connor held up his arm, Nick moving forward to speak to them.

“What is it?” Corey whispered, looking around nervously as fear gathered in his stomach. They were on the cusp of a great, wide, open space, tall, round pillars holding the ceiling up, high enough that it was lost in the shadows that even chimera-enhanced eyes could not see the end of. “Corrupted?”

“What else?” Stiles growled, moving forward at a run, the rest of the group fanning out behind him, forming a V as they charged along the edge of the grand hall and into an equally wide, circular room. There were large, goo-slick doors at the other end of the hallway leading out of the rounded chamber, and a group of three Corrupted Elites standing between them and it. “Prepare to attack!”

Corey nodded and looked at Garrett, the Löwenmensch grinning at him confidently. The younger chimera grabbed his hand and cloaked the two of them, dashing forward as Stiles released twin bolts of powerful electricity, the energy crashing against the first, more armored Corrupted. They re-emerged just as the second Elite turned away from the first, thick bands of goop forming in the air around the creature’s elongated fingers and shooting out, spearing Liam and Jackson, sending the chimeras stumbling backwards as Nick furiously unleashed a wall of fire between them and the Elites. Corey half-turned, looking in horror as Garrett’s claws bounced off the armored plates of the first Elite. He reached out and took his hand, turning them invisible again.

“Rawrr!” Theo roared, charging alongside Connor, both of them smashing into the first Corrupted, causing it to stagger. But the monster recovered quickly and backhanded him, sending Theo head over heels, his nose exploding in a shower of red. “Ugh…” The First Chimera rolled over, looking through blurred eyes at Connor continuing his attack, the strength of the Guardian Prime on display as he managed to rip off one of the Elite’s arms, black goo fountaining out of the empty socket. “Yea-” The cheer died on Theo’s lips as the third Corrupted finally moved, arms waving in a complicated pattern, a beam of goop shooting across the room and connecting with the injured Elite. Theo watched as the Elite’s arm grew back, armor plating reappearing on the new limb, forcing Connor to back away, standing defensively in front of Stiles.

“We need new tactics.” Stiles muttered, glancing at his forces. “Connor, you and Nick charge that Corrupted; keep attacking it, force the healer to concentrate on you and use its abilities to keep it alive. Theo, grab Liam, Alexander, and Jackson, you’re with me; we’ll take out the healer, so no more limbs grow back. Lydia and Josh, give us fire support, but stay out of melee range. Corey, you and Garrett do what you do best: Shadowstrike and catch them off balance.”

“As you command, Emperor!”

Stiles nodded as they affirmed his orders, waiting for them to move around and get into position, the Corrupted Elites circling around him, not engaging, the heads tilted as though mocking the chimeras silently. It was impossible to tell though, the hard, black armor that encircled their necks and led up to denser plates around the traditional weak spot at the crown of their heads left no room for emotions or expressions. The Chimera Emperor smirked at them, feeling the bulk of the Chimera Army drawing closer, his power growing with each second the Corrupted delayed. “Are we ready?”

“Yes, Emperor,” Connor nodded beside him. “We are ready!”

“Engage!”

 

Connor lunged forwards, Nick on his tail, wings giving him extra speed as they collided with the Elite, but it seemed the monster had learned from the first time Connor had used that tactic, turning its shoulder to absorb most of the impact. He grunted and crouched low, using his serrated claws to punch holes through the weaker armor around the Elite’s knee. “Hah!” Connor grinned savagely when the Elite cried out, raising its armored head in time to see the Dragon’s flaming fist smash into it, forcing the creature to stagger backwards. The Guardian Prime stood up, eyes flaring purple as he used his terrakinetic abilities to rip the stone floor of the arena up and grasp the feet of the Corrupted Elite. “Nick? Care to turn up the heat?”

“It’s a little chilly, isn’t it?” The Dragon grinned as he replied in a conversational tone, flames licking at his naked shoulders and neck. He extended his arms, letting the fire rush down and bathe the Elite with the blistering inferno, the rock around the monster melting and turning molten. “Josh, keep that other one off us!”

“I’m on it!” The younger chimera called out from above them, flying on his transparent wings, using gale force winds to drive the Elite back, the spears of goop it was about to hurl at the other two chimeras diverted towards him. Josh smirked, weaving a web of cross-flowing currents, watching the spikes get cut in half and fall back as liquid. “Yeah, not gonna happen! My brother taught me that defense against ice spikes!”

Lydia drew in a deep breath, preparing to unleash her voice on the Corrupted attacking Josh, feeling the streams of his air assault flowing around her. She nodded up at the chimera and directed her scream at the Elite, watching it freeze in the force of her attack, before one of its legs burst apart in a shower of gore and goo. “Oh! I didn’t think my voice was _that_ strong!”

“Good work, Lydia!” The Guardian Prime called out as he and Nick began punching relentlessly on the hardened plates of the Elite’s chest, seeing the healing tendril of shining, black goo arc through the air from the other side of the room. “Now, Emperor!”

Stiles nodded, hearing Connor’s shout, his eyes blazing as he wordlessly controlled his chimeras’ movements, directing them to attack the Elite. The Alpha Chimera walked slowly through the group of chimeras, a strange sensation of calmness engulfing him as he felt lightning crackling around his hands, ready to be hurled at the monster in front of him. Theo was charging forward, his fangs bared, Liam a shadow by his side as the two Archons, Jackson and Alexander, leapt into the air, their added height creating more force for their fists to smash down on the Elite. Stiles smirked as the monster suddenly appeared to notice them, halting its healing ability and shuffling around quickly to focus on them. “No.”

The Chimera Emperor flung out his hand, lightning dancing along each fingertip until it zapped through the air and sunk into the Corrupted Elite, followed a second later by a stream of fire borrowed from Nick. The attack was timed perfectly to coincide with Jackson and Alexander’s strikes, Stiles’ Elemental fury parting the protective goop around the Elite’s body and allowing their claws to dig in deep. The Elite fell to the ground, a keening screech for aid muffled by Theo and Liam jumping on it and repeatedly punching the monster in the face. Stiles smiled to himself when he heard the characteristic pop of the Elite’s head exploding, turning his attention to the last of the monsters, Connor and Nick having destroyed the other creature. _Kill it, my chimeras, it has gone beyond my attention._ The Emperor walked away leisurely, his grin widening when he felt his chimeras relax, the monster having been destroyed. “If this is the best the Harvester can throw at us, then our victory is all but assured. We march on!”

 

Theo watched as Connor limped after Stiles, concern for the other chimera making him chew the inside of his lip nervously. He had noticed that the Guardian Prime was wounded in the last fight; a group of Corrupted that were easily thrown back, even though one had managed to thrust its pike-shaped arm right through Connor’s now-badly damaged armor. The chimera hadn’t complained, but Theo could smell the heavy tang of copper from him, seeing streams of blood dripping out of the rent and torn breastplate to form puddles of crimson whenever they stopped. 

The First Chimera couldn't be sure why Connor wasn’t healing like he normally did, but the thoughts were driven out of his mind whenever the Guardian Prime looked his way, his handsome face bearing a pained expression, brows pulled together and his jaw more prominent from clenched teeth. Dark blood was spilled across his cheeks and nose, the dried essence broken up by fresh, red smears from his hands, the backs of which were slick with gore. Theo tried not to lick his lips, entranced by the beautiful contrast, but he kept failing, drawing odd gazes from Alexander and Liam who smelled his misplaced arousal.

“What?” Connor asked him as they stopped to decide which of the three staircases in front of them to take. “You keep staring at me.”

“Uh, yeah.” Theo blinked, dragging his eyes down from Connor’s intense purple eyes and across his blood-splattered cheeks, and focused instead on the battered and chipped armor that covered his chest. “I’m just wondering if you’re alright? I can smell the blood, _your_ blood, it’s coming from-” Theo stopped speaking, reaching out to touch Connor’s breastplate, but the Guardian Prime pulled away. “Ah.”

“Don’t…touch…me.” His voice was the almost the same as before, though the normal, aggressive heat that usually laced it was gone, replaced with a heavy weariness. “I need only time to heal. But we must press on, as the Emperor commands.”

“Yeah,” Theo replied slowly, patting his shoulder anyway, ignoring the flare of anger that rushed through Connor’s scent at the action. He moved past the Guardian Prime and stopped next to Corey and Stiles. “Can’t we rest for longer than a few minutes?”

“No, we’re so close to the Harvester now,” Stiles shook his head, looking past Theo at Connor, grimacing slightly when he saw his brother reach inside his armor and pull out a long talon that had broken off one the Corrupted during the last fight. Another flood of crimson rain pattered on the stone floor under the Guardian Prime and Stiles swallowed hard. “No, Theo, we need to keep going: once we take out the Harvester, the Corrupted should fall, or at least be easier to kill. I have chimeras and loyalists dying every minute out there.”

“And where exactly was that concern for innocent lives when you abandoned your position outside the city?” Corey glared at Theo. “The flank fell apart because you weren’t there to shore it up. I shouldn’t even be here, Theo, I lost chimeras too!”

“Stiles-”

“Stop.” The Guardian Prime growled, limping over to them and bowing at the Emperor. “We march on, if the Harvester is near, then we must fight it, too many chimeras and Faithful are dying to delay any longer.”

“Spoken like the true protector of the Empire.” Stiles nodded grimly, pointing at the right-hand staircase. “This way, it should lead us to the top of the fortress.”

“Connor…” Theo stood in front of him as the others followed Stiles up. “You’re not ready to go into battle, you should rest up, join us when you can.”

“Thank you, First Chimera.” The Guardian Prime forced a smile to his lips, moving around Theo anyway. “But the Emperor requires me, I cannot let Him down.”

“But-”

“Glory demands sacrifice!” Connor growled, using the bannister to haul himself up the stairs, bloody handprints left behind as Theo shadowed him nervously. “That is the core belief of our Empire, First Chimera, the only one that has ever got us this far, there can be no exceptions to that law.”

“Gah, why are you so stubborn?” Theo glared at the back of his head, “I’m just trying to…beyond Stiles I’ve never…fuck!”

“Hmm.” Connor stopped his head bowed, scent carefully guarded. After a moment, he glanced back at Theo. “Even if I left aside all that you have done, all that you are, _First Chimera,_ before the Empire rose or after it, I cannot give you want you want.”

“Well, I figured as much, I mean you won’t even admit that you like Stiles as much as he likes you.” Theo replied quickly, taking the stairs next to him as the Guardian Prime slowly climbed after the rest of the pack, even Lydia and her injured leg was moving faster than them. “I know you’re going to get pissed that I’m using his real name, but c’mon, if there’s ever a time for admitting your true feelings, it’s now!”

“What I feel is irrelevant.” The Guardian Prime growled, straightening up as though he had found some hidden reserve of strength. Theo stared at him as red eyes blazed from his blood-streaked face, drowning out Stiles’ purple fire for a moment. “Our command is to defeat the Harvester, to throw it into the Oblivion Vortex, and that is what I intend to do, regardless of how much of my own blood I must spill.”

“But, Connor-”

“No.” Connor shook Theo’s hand away and stomped up the stairs, his scent becoming clear as fury and rage boiled through the air. “This may be my last fight, and if it is, I shall die for the Emperor’s glory!”

“Fucking zealots.” Theo grumbled, but hurried after him, emerging onto an open-air rooftop, Stiles standing nearby with the others, the Emperor glaring at the massive bulk of the Harvester across a wide, square space. “Shit! That’s big!”

 

Stiles looked at Connor, seeing the Guardian Prime nod determinedly at him. He pointed at the monster and took a deep breath, “This is it, my chimeras. Now, remember, the point of this battle is not to take the Harvester down, we need to force it to flee. I can sense that the Chimera Army are lining the path it needs to take, and the Ancient chimeras are waiting to receive it. They’ll be strong enough to hold it in position until we get there. Corey, call an Osprey to be ready to scoop us up the minute we toss this creature from atop the battlements of this arrogant castle.”

“Got it.”

“It is time to show the Harvester why we chimeras are the dominant life form on this planet, and why _I_ alone am the Chimera Emperor!” Stiles growled, closing his eyes as he began mimicking the chimeras’ abilities around him. His skin toughened and was covered in a shimmering set of scales matching the ones on Nick’s armored body, transparent wings bursting out of Stiles’ back to lift him gently into the air. Lightning wrapped around his body in blue-white chains of rippling energy, Kanima claws stolen from Tracy sliding out to cover his nails. 

“Rawr!” Stiles roared, leading the charge this time as Garrett’s Löwenmensch fangs descended from his gums. He saw Connor running alongside him, the Guardian Prime’s injuries forgotten, Theo on his other side, Garrett and Corey breaking off to become invisible. Josh and Nick were flying above him, their wings outstretched as they sped across the wide rooftop towards the monster. Even Liam, Jackson, and Alexander were charging with him, their expressions ones of grim determination, Lydia grunting in pain as she followed, sliding to a halt far enough back to use her Banshee Scream abilities without being in the melee zone. “Attack!”

The Harvester turned to face them, a forest of limbs and tentacles pointing outwards to blunt their attack. It screamed when Stiles and Nick unleashed a tempest of fire ahead of them, forcing the monster to recoil and lift its defenses. The chimeras crashed into the Harvester’s body, claws and abilities flashing in the darkness of the night, pillars of lightning crashing down onto its vast, goo-covered body, as large as a house, splitting open areas of its skin that were immediately resealed, the Elemental power of the Chimera Emperor pulling on all the remaining chimeras below him to deliver strike after punishing strike. 

The monster stretched and expanded, forcing Jackson, Liam, and Alexander to back off from the walls of spongey black goop that threatened to swallow them whole. “This thing is massive!” Liam cried out, looking from side to side. “How are we meant to kill it?!”

“We’re not, the Emperor said we need to wound it bad enough to force it to retreat.” Jackson growled, slashing at the goop, the substance absorbing the impact of his strikes as though he was trying to cut water. “But this isn’t working, we need-”

“Corrupted!” Alexander shouted out, cutting across him. “They’re coming out of it!”

“But it’s shrinking too!” Liam grunted, spinning around and smashing the Corrupted human’s head into the ground, looking up as the surface of the Harvester’s blob-like body quivered and contracted, more of its goop used to create the Corrupted. “Maybe if we keep forcing it to create these monsters, it’ll get more manageable!”

“Careful what you wish for!” Jackson groaned, seeing one of the heavily armored Elites stepping out of the goop. “Converge on me!”

 

Theo grunted as Connor shoved him to one side, grabbing the Corrupted that he hadn’t got to yet and bashing its head with the one in the Guardian Prime’s other hand. All signs of weakness had been purged from Connor’s face and scent, the cool, calmness that Theo was used to associating with him was back, along with a burning anger that he could feel pulsing through his own body: Stiles’ abilities affecting them all, energizing them, both giving and taking power in equal amounts. Theo looked up into the air, mindlessly killing Corrupted as he did so, seeing long spears of hardened goop being fired across the battlefield to where Lydia, Josh, and Nick were standing and hovering, using their abilities from afar. “Stiles!”

“I know!” The Emperor called back, clenching his fists to mimic Nick, hurling fireballs towards the goop spears and catching them before they had a chance to connect with the ranged attackers. “Keep up the assault, my chimeras!”

Connor pointed at the Elite, seeing Corey and Garrett wink in and out of existence as the younger chimera helped him attack and disappear. “Focus fire on that Elite, we can’t let more appear or we’ll be overrun!” The Guardian Prime slashed through several wavy limbs seeking to slice at his face and swung around, kicking out at the Harvester, encasing his foot in rock just before it connected. He grunted and concentrated on firing a spike of the element deep into the monster’s side. Connor nodded when the Harvester shrieked, rolling out of the way when it attempted the counterattack. He looked over his shoulder to see the Emperor straying further back to deal with the constant barrage of goop-covered projectiles that the monster was firing at Lydia, Josh, and Nick. 

“Connor, c’mon! Help me!”

“Right.” He heeded Theo’s call for assistance and hurried over, shouldering aside Corrupted as though they were mere annoyances, Garrett appearing behind him to smash their heads apart with his fists, Corey dancing around near the Löwenmensch, avoiding the Harvester’s attacks, before darting forward to cloak Garrett again. Connor leapt towards the Corrupted Elite, the armored creature struggling with Theo, together they managed to wrap their hands around its neck and repeatedly smashed it into the ground. Alexander, Liam, and Jackson were battling against the now-constant stream of Corrupted that emerged from the Harvester’s goop. “Rawr!” The Guardian Prime nodded at Theo to let go and he finished off the Elite, crushing its head between his hands, mouth closed to avoid the spurt of goo that shot out from it. 

Theo pulled Connor back towards Stiles as the Harvester quivered and trembled, a bizarre wave rolling up through the thick, black goop that covered its frame. “What the hell?”

“Stay back!” Connor called out, waving for the rest of the group to disengage and pull away. “I’m not sure, but it looks like it’s shrinking.”

“It did use a lot of, err, itself as weapons.” The First Chimera grimaced, holding onto Connor’s arm, the Guardian Prime not pulling away, even as Theo glanced at him, Connor’s eyes narrowing. “Um, maybe we should-” His words were cut off as the Harvester went still and a howling sound filled the air, drowning out whatever Theo was going to say. He dived to one side, seeing Connor dashing backwards to pull the Emperor out of harm’s way as Corey shouted out nearby.

“INCOMING!”

The whistle of the goop-slick missiles reminded Theo of the artillery Stiles had used against the city just a few hours earlier, the impacts not causing craters and explosions of fire, but rather erupting in clouds of thick, black fog. “Fuck.” Theo grunted, looking around, confused as he lost his bearings. He could hear the others calling out, their voices distant. “Stiles? Corey? Connor? Anyone?!”

“Stay still!” The Alpha Chimera’s voice cut through the dense fog, so profuse that Theo couldn’t see his blazing purple eyes. “No one is to move, Alexander, if you’re near Lydia, grab onto each other. Nick, Firestorm this area, the Harvester cannot be allowed to use this distraction to flee yet!”

“I’m on it!” The Dragon growled, a deep red bloom of fire streaked across the black fog in front of Theo, highlighting where the chimeras were standing. The Legendary chimera took to the sky, flames coating his forearms as he spun rapidly, Josh standing up and feeding his air to the ability. In a matter of seconds, the black fog was burned away, and Theo could see everyone again.

“Hah,” Stiles smirked, shaking a finger at the Harvester and laughing. “Is that all you have to offer us? I am the Alpha Chimera, the Unified Overmind, greatest of all who walk the Earth! I expect _more_ from one who would claim to be my equal!”

 _Uh, Stiles, are you really going to taunt the giant goo-monster?_ Theo closed his eyes briefly, snapping them open when the entire rooftop trembled. He looked around at the battlements and nearby tower as they were converted into pure, black goop, the same as the Harvester’s own, flowing through the air to wrap around the creature, repairing the damage caused by the first phase of their battle. “Damn it, it’s healing itself!”

“Hmm, best we interrupt it then!” Stiles snarled, clenching his fists tight and drawing lightning into his hands, the bands of blue-white sparking around him and making the air taste of ozone. “Argh!” The Chimera Emperor thrust his hands out, launching the devastating attack, crackling beams of electricity rushing across the rooftop to smash into the Harvester.

The monster’s gathering of the repairing goo was halted, and it staggered back for a moment as the other chimeras charged forward, diving into melee range to attack the creature once more. Stiles walked forward calmly, a superior smirk on his face as he continued to hurl bolts of lightning at the monster, nodding as Nick and Josh worked together with Lydia to carve a deep runnel along the Harvester’s flank with fire, super-heated air, and the power of the Banshee Scream. “You are nothing but a mistake…” The Emperor growled, feeling the electrical power thrum inside him again, preparing for another overwhelming strike. 

“Master! Look out!” Connor shouted, pulling Stiles’ attention to the side, seeing a mass of goop stretch outwards, a bulge of shiny black liquid that began to form itself into a hand.

“What the hell?” Stiles muttered, eyes widening as the hand moved faster than he expected, eclipsing Connor as the Guardian Prime raced towards him. He tried to use his mimicked wings to lift himself out of danger, but the goop-hand lunged after him, the strange fingers gripping his body tight as a veil of goo surged up his body and masked his face. Stiles attempted to shout, but all sound was muffled, darkness suffocating him.

 

The Chimera Emperor blinked, the feel of hot, rough sand against his cheek. He picked himself up, looking around slowly as shapes came into a soft focus. “I’m in the desert, ok…” Stiles frowned, seeing a pyramid not far from him, the details lost in the orange and yellow light that filled the space. A quick glance over his shoulder confirmed there was a city behind him, _the_ city. “Ahh, Ka’narack: city of the Overmind. So, this is a dream? A memory?”

“My memory!”

Stiles turned quickly, watching a figure emerge from the sand dunes. It was strange; human, once, though he wasn’t sure if it could be still called that. There were no features, no genitals, no definition, nothing except the limbs, torso, and head, covered in completely smooth skin, a faint tan to provide color, but nothing else. “You are the Harvester? Or rather, you were the human that the monster came from?”

“I wassss to be great!” The tone was as strange as the figure, Stiles could hear a man’s voice and a woman’s, the hint of a child’s, and yet it still reached his ears genderless. “I would have rivalled you, Overmind, and become the god of thissss world!”

“A god, huh? By eating it?” Stiles shook his head, glancing around, feeling a spark of familiar power dance through his limbs. “What do you want from me?”

“Your chimerassss are fighting to free you, outsssside thissss realm, if they do not ssssucceed in time, my essssence will break through your defensessss, Overmind, and I sssshall conssssume you too!” The Harvester spread its arms slowly, a crack forming in the creature’s egg-like head, black goop dripping out. “And if I conssssume you in here, I sssshall eat all of your world out there!”

“Enough of this, snake tongue!” Stiles growled, eyes blazing purple as he knelt and smashed his fist into the earth, a quake rippling outwards and crashing into the Harvester’s body, sending it flying backwards. “You are a failed experiment, unleashed because I made a mistake, thinking I could change the mind of a shining hero, and bring him into my darkness. But that didn’t work out so well, and now I just have you to clean up. I am the Chimera Emperor and this word belongs to _me!_ ”

 

“Don’t just stand there!” Corey shouted at the chimeras gathered around the goop hand, looking at it. The Harvester had gone utterly still, much like Stiles, both frozen in whatever phase they had been sucked into. 

“We can’t hurry,” Connor warned him. “We do not know what is happening to the Emperor.”

“I’ve seen enough of this type of crazy shit to know that time could be moving differently in there!” The younger chimera glared at the Guardian Prime. “Get him out of there, Connor, that’s an order!”

Connor stiffened and straightened up. For a moment, Corey thought he wouldn’t agree, but then the Guardian Prime nodded once. “Very well, Minister. Nick, you burn the ‘wrist,’ and I’ll pull from this side. Theo, you better stand back. The rest of you need to be ready: I’m sure the Harvester will awaken at the same time as we retrieve our master.”

Corey nodded and moved away, avoiding Theo’s eyes, feeling the tension between them. _You mightn’t agree with my decision, but we’re not leaving Stiles in there, he did everything he could to get you out of your prison, Theo._ “Begin.”

Nick nodded and began forcing streams of flame into the outstretched pillar of goop that was attaching the hand to the main body of the Harvester. He grunted as the fire turned from dark orange to white, hotter flames, looking over as Connor began to pull on the fingers wrapped around their master. “Almost through! I can see the other side!”

“Yeah, it’s breaking apart.” Connor growled, staggering backwards suddenly when the Emperor was released, the hand splashing to the floor as so much inert goop. Stiles fell onto him, choking and coughing, but alive. “We have You, master.”

“Burn…that…thing…from this Earth.” The Chimera Emperor muttered, spitting out black liquid, his body wrapped in oscillating bands of electricity, purging all trace of the Harvester’s corruption from his skin. He stood up with Connor’s help, glaring at the retreating form of the Harvester, its many limbs attempting to carry the great mass away from the chimeras. “We have the advantage, now, press it! Forward!” 

“As You command, Emperor!” Connor and Nick roared out, the chimeras snarling at the Harvester. “For the Empire!”

“Glory!” Theo shouted the word without thinking, joining the others as Corey and Garrett were cloaked again, their shapes visible for a moment before disappearing from sight. He turned his attention to the Harvester, frowning as the creature seemed to tighten itself somehow, the goop around the middle sucking in and being replaced with a dull, red metal-like substance. “What the hell is that? Armor?”

“My armor.” Connor mumbled, glaring at the chunk of composite that was pushed to the surface of the Harvester’s goop. “Part of the pieces that were taken from me when it captured myself and the other chimeras. It must have learned to replicate it. This could be a problem.” The monster was encased in the protective shield in mere seconds, the armor rippling out across its form and over the many limbs and tentacles it used as weapons. Connor nodded at Nick, seeing him signal back to Josh for him to get airborne too. “We need to cut a hole, channel all our attacks into it and strike deep.”

“Agreed.” Stiles replied with a sharp nod. “We should also-”

“Argh!” Josh cried out, crashing down onto the roof as dozens of the armored limbs reached into the air, the talons and claws on the end of the arms and legs swiping at the two chimeras. The air Elemental moaned in pain, clutching his stomach, cut open by a stray talon. Nick landed nearby, his fiery wings protecting him from harm. “Ahh…”

“Gah!” Stiles grunted, his eyes flaring as he forced Josh’s wound to close over, leaving the young chimera to heal the rest of the way on his own. “Rent that armor, chimeras! We are too close to victory to fail now!”

Stiles focused his lightning strikes on an area close to where Connor and Theo were fighting more Corrupted, these ones forming from the citadel itself, parts of the fortress collapsing around them. He didn’t see the spear of goop until it was flying overhead, out of his range, “Fuck!” Stiles growled, watching it exploded above Alexander and Lydia, a shower of black goop splashing down on them. His attention was pulled away from their horrified screaming as Jackson’s chest was punctured by the Harvester’s many limbs, the ones that had reached into the air were now pointing towards his chimeras in melee range. “Defensive posture, Nick, get to Alexander!”

“I’m coming!” Nick cried out, dashing backwards towards the Archon and Lydia, gliding rapidly a few inches from the surface, readying his flames to burn away the goop that was sucking the flesh from their bodies with greedy noises. The Dragon landed between them, the fire flashing outwards in a circle. He choked back a disgusted moan as he stared at their badly wounded forms, each lying against the other, skin riven with deep wounds, exposed muscles wet and slick. Nick turned away, unable to keep looking, watching instead as Liam was thrown backwards with speed. The chimera jumped high to catch him, intercepting a trajectory that would have tossed Liam off the edge of the fortress. “I have you!”

“Ugh,” Liam groaned, coughing up a mouthful of blood as Nick laid him down next to Lydia and Alexander, dragging Josh’s curled up form back to the injured group. “Fuck…”

 

“No!” Corey cried out, dashing towards Garrett when he saw the Harvester lash out with four of its limbs, each scything at the Löwenmensch’s chest and stomach. The younger chimera was so focused on the attack and getting to his boyfriend, that he never saw the gangly limb sneaking towards him, the sharp end punching through Corey’s shoulder blade and out the other side. “Ah!” Corey stumbled forward, falling heavily, blood spilling out of his wound and across his hands, lung collapsing and forcing his breath to be expelled in a sharp gust. He was dimly aware of Garrett enraging close to him, the Löwenmensch’s claws ripping through the forest of limbs that clamped down around him. “Ah, ah, ah, guys….” Corey mumbled feebly, blinking rapidly as his vision began to fade, seeing the rest of the chimeras continue to fight on stubbornly. 

“I’m here, I gotchu, Corey.” 

Strong arms were lifting him up, moving him away from the fight, away from where Theo and Connor were still battling the Corrupted and Stiles was still hurling lightning at the now armored Harvester. Corey tried to speak, but his teeth began to chatter ceaselessly, and he felt Garrett press hard into his chest, but there was no pain. _There should be pain though! Right? I felt, I felt, I…_

“Corey? C’mon, stay with me, Corey.” Garrett patted the chimera’s cheeks, using the back of his hand to feel the clammy sweat that covered his forehead. “Fuck, he must be going into shock…Stiles is occupied, fuck, fuck, fuck!” The Löwenmensch slid his hand a little lower, slipping in the blood that poured out from Corey’s deep injury. “You can heal though, you’re one of the fastest healers among the chimeras, just need to jump start it…ok.” Garrett grimaced as he began to leech the pain from Corey’s body, white-hot daggers ripping into his gut, sharp razors dragging along his arms, searing flames approaching his eyeballs. The Löwenmensch ignored all of it until he could hear Corey’s sweet voice again. 

“Garrett! Stop, I can, I have it now, don’t draw so much.”

“Hah, good, good.” Garrett panted, his eyes blood red, fading into purple as he released part of Corey’s pain. “We’re just gonna sit here for a bit, ok?”

“Yeah,” Corey managed, tasting blood in his mouth, not wanting to look down at the blood-sodden mess that was Garrett’s hand on his wound, seeing the crimson soak upwards towards his elbow. “Stiles has it anyway…”

 

“Yes!” Connor roared in triumph as he finally managed to punch through the Harvester’s stolen armor, pulling open the composite plates with Theo’s aid. He looked over his shoulder, eyes meeting his master’s and nodded. “Attack, now!”

“We’ll hold the armor apart as long as we can!” Theo added, muscles straining as the Harvester began to shake violently, as though it had figured out what they were planning. “Hurry, Stiles!”

“I understand,” The Emperor called out, spreading his hands apart, beginning to charge up the Elemental powers mimicked from the chimeras around him on the rooftop and in the Chimera Army still battling the Corrupted far below him. “Stand fast, my chimeras, I’ll need a minute!” Electricity coursed down his arms to pool in his open hands, sparking brilliantly in the air as ice gathered in large crystals around his shoulders, rushing along his veins to form a large, spiky ball between his hands, the lightning suffusing into the weapon, Josh’s air powers holding it aloft. He grunted, the ground around him erupting in shards of goop as the Emperor pulled rock up from the earth far below him into the attack, giving the sphere a solider shape. “Almost there…” With an eye on the struggling chimeras attempting to keep the target open, the Alpha Chimera mimicked Nick’s fire and forced the final element into the weapon, his arms shaking from the force all of the abilities exerted on each other. “Get out of the way!”

“Go!” Connor grunted at Theo, seeing his master pushing his hands together and outwards, the beam of elemental energy building around him. “I can absorb that level of power, Theo, you can’t!”

“Bullshit!” The First Chimera glared at him. “No can take that much damage, we go together, the last possible moment!”

“Emperor give me strength!” Connor growled, seeing the attack firing forwards from his master’s outstretched hands, a brilliant beam of searing, white energy pushing through the air towards them. “I’m sorry, Theo.” The Guardian Prime released one corner of the buckled armor and punched the First Chimera hard, forcing him out of the way, his hand reaching back in time to keep the armor open as the Emperor’s attack whistled overhead. 

Connor fell to his knees and shut his eyes, feeling the collateral effects of the ferocious power of the Alpha Chimera blasting into the Harvester, lightning splitting his armor apart, flames rolling across his back, blood turned to vapour by the intensity of the heat. The Guardian Prime released the edges of the armor as the Harvester wailed and trashed around, numbness filling his hands and darkness claiming his vision.

 

“No! No! _No!_ You always fucking do this!” Theo shouted at the boiling clouds of steam that engulfed the Harvester in the aftermath of Stiles’ overwhelming attack. He tried to move forward to see if he could go in and drag whatever was left of the Guardian Prime out, but the temperature was too intense for Theo, and he had to back away, seeing his hands turn red and begin to blister. “Fuck!” The First Chimera froze when he heard the clanging of falling armor and the sound of the Harvester shuffling away slowly towards the edge of the fortress, no longer attempting to challenge them. “It worked! Stiles, it worked! The Harvester is fleeing!”

“Good, good.” Stiles grunted, clutching his chest, a spear of goop from the citadel’s collapsing structure having pierced him during the charging up of his ultimate ability. “Theo, get over here.”

“Stiles?” Theo turned away from where Connor had been and dashed over to the Emperor, grabbing him as Stiles fell to his knees. “What is it? What can I do?”

“Give me a minute and be thankful the Overmind has at least one ability not dependant on chimeras.” Stiles managed a weak grin, gripping Theo’s hand, breathing hard as the otherwise mortal wound was negated by the Overmind. “Not going to be able to do that again for a while, we need to finish the Harvester quickly. Need to get to the trap.”

“I know, but…” Theo glanced back at the clearing smoke, eyes widening as he saw a bloodied, hobbling figure pursuing the Harvester as the monster shuffled off the top of the citadel. “Connor, no! You idiot!” The Guardian Prime’s left arm was hanging limply by his side as he threw himself after the Harvester, both of them disappearing from view; the crash of masonry and a sickening thud echoed back up to them ten seconds later. “What the hell was he thinking?!”

“Something about duty, no doubt.” Stiles muttered, getting to his feet when he felt a disturbance in the air above him, two Ospreys lowering onto the rooftop now that the battle was over. “Get the badly wounded into one of those aircraft, Theo, and we’ll use the other one to chase the Harvester down.” The Chimera Emperor acknowledged his nod and walked carefully over to the edge of the citadel, seeing the passageway the chimeras left for the Harvester to follow into his trap was clear. The massive creature was stationary however at the base of the fortress. Stiles attempted to find Connor among the thousands of chimeras around him, but there were just too many injured to find one chimera. “Ahh, what?”

“The wounded are loaded, Stiles.” Theo touched his shoulder. “Corey insists that he’s ok to continue, but he’s been hurt pretty bad. I’ll bring him with us, but he shouldn’t fight anymore.”

“No.” Stiles frowned, grunting as the monster far below them began to move again. “But we are not finished, Theo. The Maw hungers yet, and the Harvester has done much to deserve its time imprisoned in that nightmarish tomb!”

“Yes, Emperor.”

 

Connor groaned, blinking and shaking his head to clear the stars that were exploding in front of his eyes. He was lying on a piece of armor that was still attached to the quivering form of the Harvester. The creature was moving slowly now, trailing broken limbs and bleeding a thick, viscous goo, heading along the track the Emperor had designed for it. Connor stood up unsteadily, grabbing the wrist of his dislocated and broken arm, forcing it back into the socket with a grunt of pain. He would have to wait for the bones to set, but one arm would be enough for now. Connor wiped the dark, dried blood from his mouth and lips, spitting it out with distaste and looking upwards as two Ospreys buzzed overhead, one heading for the staging post, the other swooping low towards him, the rear ramp extended. “Hmm.”

“I told you he was alive!” The Emperor laughed and walked carefully down the ramp, Theo holding onto the back of his belt with one hand, the other curled around a handle inside the aircraft. “C’mon! Take my hand, Connor!”

The Guardian Prime nodded wordlessly, stretching up with his unbroken one and clasping his master’s wrist firmly, feet leaving the Harvester’s back as the Osprey pulled up and away, Corey’s shouted orders reaching his ears. “Thank You, Emperor, but You didn’t have to come for me.” He collapsed on the ramp, grunting in pain. “Ah, shit.”

“Oh, we were just passing,” Theo smirked at him, helping the Emperor to drag Connor inside the Osprey and propping him up by one of the seats, flying ahead of the Harvester towards the Nemeton grove. “Besides, you’ve saved my life, what, four times today? I think I might owe you one.”

“Hah.” Connor managed a weak grin, his dozens of wounds beginning to overwhelm him. The Emperor reached down and pulled off his cracked and blackened breastplate, grimacing at the bloodied and dirtied skin, deep fissures into his chest, the pulse of his heart a little too close to the surface. “It’s fine, I’ll heal.”

“Yeah…” His master snapped his eyes back onto Connor’s. “You better.”

“Emperor?” The pilot called out, “We’re approaching the Nemeton now.”

“Good, put us down, and then fly the Guardian Prime to _Glória do Imperador_ so he can-”

“No!” Connor hauled himself upright, causing Theo to back away in surprise. “I can still fight. And my place is by Your side, master.”

“But…” The Emperor trailed off as they began to descend, seeing the fire in Connor’s eyes. “Very well, but you’re to hang back with Corey. The other Guardians who survived were to meet us here, _they_ can protect me.”

“As You command.”

 

Stiles acknowledged the bow of the Ancient chimeras, standing in the middle of them to watch the Harvester draw closer, grinning every time it attempted to leave the path he had created for it, only to be driven back by the tens of thousands of chimeras and human loyalists who had survived the battle. “Here it comes, my chimeras! Prepare to activate the ritual!” The Emperor turned away, stepping over the carefully drawn lines around the intact Nemeton, designed to invoke the Skinwalkers' power and drawn the ancient Maw to them. 

“I’m here.” Liam stood next to one of the large conductive plates, his wounds healed by the Emperor’s focus on him. “What do I do?”

“I need you to stand on the dish.” Stiles gestured at it and then at the group of electrical chimeras near the back of the grove. “They will charge the conductive wires that loop around the Nemeton, I’ll be standing opposite you, and we direct the energy forward, into the tree. Got it?”

“Yes, Emperor.” Liam nodded. “This will open the trap and cause the Harvester to fall through, right?”

“That’s right, the Maw will be waiting, and the Harvester will be devoured, stuck in the Hellscape for all time.” Stiles placed a hand on Liam’s shoulder and locked eyes with him. “Once that monster is gone, the goop won’t have any effect, and anyone poisoned by it should be saved.”

“Should be.” Liam echoed softly, feeling his head being forced up by the Alpha Chimera. “It’s our only option, I know, otherwise Philip and all the others will die.”

“Good, I’m glad you understand.” Stiles turned away, signalling the electrical chimeras to begin charging the plates. “You’ve done this a few times before, Liam, just remember to let the current flow through you, don’t try and resist.”

“As you command.” He stepped onto the plate, shaking his arms out like he used to do before a lacrosse game. Stiles paused at the movement, before dismissing it and walking over to stand at his own position. 

“Ah, Archon Hale.” The Emperor smirked as Peter was escorted to the center of the grove by the Guardians. “I was wondering where you’d gotten to.”

“Not like I could run, right?”

“No, you couldn’t.” Stiles pointed for him to move into position, hearing the keening moans of the Harvester closing in on them. “Our guest is almost here: all you need to do is hold its attention for long enough, and don’t worry, I’ll pull you out before you get sucked in.”

“Kill me, it’ll be quicker.” Peter shrugged, looking at the approaching monster in horror. “I don’t want to be trapped in hell for all time with that thing!”

“Go, then.” Stiles dismissed him with a wave, stomping down on memories that threatened to surface, of a time when Peter Hale was the monster in dark, when _he_ was afraid of the Alpha werewolf. “A lifetime ago.”

“Master?”

“Nothing, Connor, go wait with Theo.” The Emperor nodded at his boyfriend standing on a hillock on the other side of the clearing, waiting for Connor to leave before he called out to Liam. “It’s time! Start charging!”

 

“This is it,” Theo whispered, glancing at Corey on one side and Connor on the other. “Elemental fury is great and all, but this is how chimeras should defeat their enemies!”

“What are you talking about?” Corey stared at him, brow arched.

“Chimeras come from the Dread Doctors, from para-science, the harnessing of the natural and the supernatural,” He explained as Stiles and Liam began channelling their gathered electrical energy into the conductive wires spooled around the Nemeton’s base, causing the druidic runes carved into the earth to glow and emit a high-pitched hum. “This is what made us great to begin with, and now, at the end, it is what will ensure our dominance for all time!”

“Hmm, if it works as it should.” Connor muttered, hunched over, his scent sharp with unconcealed pain. He pointed at the trail leading to the ruins of the Harvester’s city. “The monster comes.”

“Yes, it does!” Theo grinned, his expression dimming at little as he glanced at Connor’s face, tight with concentration, blood pooling around his feet. The First Chimera was about to speak again when the Harvester broke into the clearing, wordless cries echoing from its slick, black form. “I kinda expected threats.”

“It hasn’t spoken since we confronted it,” Connor observed, coughing into his hand, ignoring the bloody spittle. “Perhaps growing so large robbed it of reason and all it can do is fulfil its purpose: consume the world.”

“We should be down there,” Corey chewed on a fingernail, nervously watching as the Ancient chimeras engaged the Harvester, his eyes widening slightly when the cat-headed chimera skilfully ducked the monster’s attacks, drawing it back into the rapid strikes of Horus’ beak. “Or not…wow.”

“The Ancient chimeras have fought against this enemy before.” Connor explained, slumping sideways to rest against the roots of the Nemeton, stretching all the way across the clearing. “They know its tactics, its mind, and how to trick it. I don’t think it was as large when they forced it out of Egypt, however.”

“It’s getting closer!” Corey squeaked, excitement causing his voice to inch higher. He glared at Theo when the older chimera sniggered, turning his attention back to Stiles as the Emperor reached into his pocket and pulled out the Entrance Rod. “He’s about to do it!”

 

Stiles looked up at the Harvester as it bore down on them, his eyes flaring purple. _Don’t you think of moving, Peter, your legs are locked, muscles don’t respond._ The Emperor nodded at Liam, seeing him crouch down and place his hands on the nexus of conductive wires in front of him, transferring all of his power in one go, at the same moment, Stiles flicked the Rod into its long form and rammed it into the earth.

Thunder echoed around the Nemeton grove, blue light flashing across the druidic runes and encircling the Nemeton, the high-pitched hum of electricity replaced with an unearthly howl. The ancient tree was there one moment before it vanished the next, collapsing into the red-hued void noiselessly, Peter somehow managing to stand on the empty space. Stiles grinned to himself, watching as the Harvester was harried into the ring, limbs flailing as it attempted to resist the attacks of the Ancient chimeras and Guardians from behind. It failed and instead charged forward, diving on top of the Archon in a misplaced surge of confidence. 

“Yes!” The Emperor snarled, wrenching the Entrance Rod up, and clenching his fist tight, sending Peter’s heart into shock, killing him in an instant as the Harvester turned towards him. “All yours, Maw!”

Great pillars of red smoke shimmered in the air, not quite there, but almost; the shadow of great jaws and massive teeth appearing to close over the Harvester and started to drag it down into the Hellscape. “Gratitude, Chimera Emperor!” The voice echoed through the clearing, seemingly coming from everywhere at once. "I shall feast for millennia!" 

Stiles grinned wider and stepped off the conductive plate, assured of his triumph as he moved closer to where the Nemeton used to stand. The Harvester was almost out of sight now, the Maw pulling the monster into the Hellscape, and Stiles turned around, raising his hands graciously, preparing to address the clearing. “My glorious chimeras, today marks the-argh!” The Emperor staggered forward, cut off as the Harvester managed to lash out one last time, a goop-covered limb questing through the air to spear Stiles through the chest. “Ah, uh, gah!” He struggled to speak, blood gurgling out of his mouth as the Overmind’s defensive ability failed to activate. _Too soon after the last, so close…_

“Stiles!” Theo slid to a halt next to him, catching the Alpha Chimera before he fell to the ground. He tried to leech the pain, but Connor grabbed his hand before he could start. “What are you doing?!”

“Do that now, and you’ll only ease Him off to death sooner.” The Guardian Prime collapsed to his knees, red eyes burning as Stiles began to die, blood soaking the grass under him. “The Chimera Emperor has no healing abilities of His own to kick-start.” Connor glanced at Theo. “It’s why He has the Guardians.”

“What are you-”

“For the glory of the Emperor.” Connor whispered, tugging the remnants of his armor and undershirt off, tossing them to one side, leaving him shirtless. The Guardian Prime placed both his hands on Stiles’ shoulders and waited for the remaining Guardians to encircle him, each placing a hand on Connor. Nothing seemed to happen for a few seconds, Stiles continuing to shake and bleed, his eyes darting desperately between Theo and Connor. Then the Guardian Prime’s eyes blazed purple, finding an echo in Stiles’ own. “Take from me my flesh and blood and bone, so that You may rise again, Emperor.”

“Oh fuck!” Theo stared even as Corey turned away, dry-retching at the literal transference of Connor’s body to Stiles’; flesh peeling off and flowing into the Alpha Chimera, rebuilding his torso with bones borrowed from Connor, blood passing into him like water dropping from a tap. When it was complete, Stiles was fully healed, but Connor… “What the hell did you just do?” Theo pulled the Guardian Prime away from Stiles, laying him down carefully, grimacing as he looked at the exposed rib bones and drained, pale organs open to the air, his sternum missing. The chimera’s chest was still intact in places, a bizarre sight that contrasted the horrific with the beautiful. The First Chimera could just feel a weak pulse against his fingers before that stopped entirely. “Shit.” Bowing his head, Theo turned to Stiles, shaking his head grimly. “He’s gone.”

“Not yet.” Stiles replied hoarsely. He pushed away the hands that tried to help him up, crawling over to Connor, still weakened from the mortal wound and desperate attempt to save him. “Unity works both ways, I can give him a little, just enough life to pull him back. Guardians stand with me!”

“Just be careful, Stiles.” Theo said as the Alpha Chimera looked at him for approval. _A year ago, hell, six months ago, I would’ve let Connor die, but now…_ “Do it.”

“Yes,” Stiles placed his hand on Connor’s forehead, the one place that wasn’t covered in gore or splattered with blood. “Heal, my chimera, come back to us, your duty to the Empire endures.” He gasped, feeling the breath pulled from his lungs and pushed into Connor’s. Not wanting to look down, Stiles instead glanced up at Theo and Corey, feeling Connor’s heart beat a slow rhythm again. “Victory.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next week’s chapter will likely be up on Sunday the 20th or Monday the 21st due to a function I have to attend on Saturday. The final three chapters will consist of mainly dialogue, world building, tying up plotlines, and a helping or two of smut! If there's any characters in particular you want to see having sex, do tell me, Theo/Stiles is a given, of course!


	13. War's End

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The following chapter contains explicit sexual content without the use of protection. Please stay safe in real life!

The sun was high in the sky, a ball of fire blazing down on the battlefield, revealing the horrors of the night’s deadly conflict. It looked remarkably one-sided; only chimeras and humans were amongst the dead, the Corrupted having broken down into goop, leaving no husks behind. Stiles pursed his lips as he looked out across a great sea of black, hardened goo, no longer shiny and mobile, it had lost all of its limited sentience when the Harvester had been taken by the Maw. The monster’s city was in ruins, along with its citadel, the half-collapsed structure remaining in place in front of him. The Emperor tilted his head slightly, smelling Theo’s approach, but Stiles kept silent until his boyfriend was standing next to him. “Any news?”

“Nothing major,” Theo shrugged, looking out from the rise they were standing on towards the battlefield itself, teams of chimeras moving across it to recover the dead and wounded. “His condition is stable, and the others are getting better. Anyone who was exposed to the goop will be alright, it’s become like, err, a hardened substance inside them, almost like if they had been hit by fragments of metal, shrapnel wounds.”

“Your people can handle it?”

“Of course.” He scoffed, spreading his arms wide. “My surgeons made the Chimera Army, Stiles! They’ve got this locked down, even if they are operating in field hospitals. But, um, Lydia is a different story.”

“Oh?” Stiles glanced at him. “What’s wrong?”

“She’s not a chimera, not exactly human either, no enhanced healing, and the Harvester took _chunks_ of her flesh away.” The First Chimera frowned, seeing an Exarch move from body to body nearby, the whispered words of a prayer reaching Theo’s ears. He blinked and met Stiles’ eyes, continuing to speak. “We’ve done all we can, and she’ll live, perhaps, just not…be the same.”

“I’m sure Alexander can overlook some flaws.” The Emperor dismissed his concerns with a wave. “I trust Philip is alive? I don’t want to have to make another Manticore if we can help it, Theo.”

“We have his essence on stock, it would be easier this time, Stiles.”

“Mmh, perhaps more Legendary chimeras will be needed for the next stage of our plan.”

“Plan?” Theo echoed. “I thought this was it, that with the defeat of the Harvester, we’d, err-”

“Just return to the Imperial Palace and live forever, lording our victory over the humans until they die out?” Stiles laughed, throwing his hands apart and gesturing to the sky. “I told you, Theo, that I would not be satisfied until the stars themselves burn with purple fire! Had the Harvester not taken Connor and thrown our plans into disarray, we would be much closer to bringing our chimeras to space.”

“Still going to go ahead with that?” The First Chimera lowered his voice as another Exarch passed by them, the chimera bowing low to Stiles. “I know you had some early strategies laid down, but with the state of _this_ world, perhaps we should rebuild first?”

“That’s what the Archons are for, Theo.” Stiles dropped his arms, nodding slowly. “They will rebuild Earth, and we will take every planet around it. I’ve had Marric from The Occulus tasked with a new a project, well, the Chimera Space Program, he and Connor did some initial work before the Guardian Prime was captured. Smart guy, great ideas, when the time is right, your scientists and surgeons will be collaborating with him to build the first of our great space-faring chimeras!”

“Well, you never lacked for ambition, Stiles.” Theo grinned, glancing back at the semi-circle of silent, unmoving Guardians behind them, his smile faltering when he remembered that their leader wasn’t as close as he should be. He swallowed and turned towards the Harvester’s ruined city, pointing at it. “What are you going to do about that?”

“We’ll tear it down, some of the scientists want to take samples, see what it’s made of: organic matter or not.” Stiles replied, sighing. “I’ll have the fire Elemental chimeras burn the goop from the surface, turn it back to earth and let the jungle heal.”

“That’ll take a few decades, I think.”

“Perhaps, but at least we have that time now.” The Emperor nodded, “The Maw will hold up its end of our bargain, and once we return to Victory City I’ll throw the Entrance Rod back into the Hellscape and close the portal forever. It’s the only active entrance point to that realm on this planet.”

“Mmh.” Theo grunted, turning away from the battlefield when Stiles did, the two of them walking back to their personal Osprey, the trappings of the Chimera Emperor falling about Stiles with familiar ease. 

 

The aircraft was taking them back to _Glória do Imperador,_ skirting low over the treetops and bringing them across the grove where the Nemeton once stood, nothing left but a charred ring of blackened earth and debris from their trap, more chimeras cleaning it up. Theo was about to comment on it when Stiles spoke.

“Have you heard the actual casualty reports or are they still counting?”

“I don’t have the exact figures, no.” Theo shook his head. “Corey was liaising with the Generals and remaining Exarchs, but all he said was the battle was brutal. Fatalities to both human and chimera forces were extensive, and the number of wounded ticked up into the thousands after the battle was over and more were able to be evacuated. The field hospitals were overflowing when I left.”

“Mmh, it must be pretty bad in there.” Stiles muttered in agreement. “Jackson has offered part of the city to be used for burying the dead and creating some sort of monument there for them.”

“I’m sure Connor will want to handle that.”

“Perhaps.” The Emperor glanced at him, trying to meet his eyes, but Theo looked out the window, seeing the airport come into view. “Have you gone to see him yet?”

“We only finished the battle this morning, Stiles, he needs time to recover.”

“Right, of course.” There was the hint of a smirk pulling at the Alpha Chimera’s lips. “Well, he’s mostly awake; private rooms on the Palace’s south side, facing the ocean, if you should want to visit him. You are right, though, his wounds are bad enough to make him take a few days off: massive bone loss across his rib cage and sternum, he’s rebuilding most of the muscle and flesh that was taken, the blood came back almost instantly, he’ll be fine by the time we need to return to the capital.”

"Hmm.” Theo grunted. “Guess he’s connected to you even more now, huh?”

“I suppose.” Stiles placed a hand over his chest at the spot where the Harvester’s final attack had penetrated. “The Overmind’s limited invulnerability mechanism hadn’t reset by that stage, if it wasn’t for Connor, I’d be dead.”

“He was gone for a minute.”

“I’m not saying we planned for this exact moment, Theo, but he always wanted the Guardians to be able to have an ability like Unity that would ensure the Emperor survives.” Stiles stood up as they landed on the tarmac of the bustling airport. “The Guardian Prime regenerates fast, I’m not sure any of these others would have made it.”

“You’re right.” Theo muttered, glancing at the expressionless faces of the bodyguards, and followed Stiles down the ramp. The airport was a hive of activity, Archons from the world over flying in to celebrate the Empire’s victory, military aircraft arriving to prepare for the redistribution of the Chimera Army and the Faithful now that the war was won, Ospreys buzzing overhead as they ferried the dead and wounded from the battlefield to the staging post and the city. He stopped next to the black SUV that was waiting for them, seeing Stiles lost in thought. “What is it?”

“Huh? Nothing, just trying to decide if there was a way we could honor Connor without him knowing; he’s too damn humble to accept any sort of statue or reward.” Stiles glanced at Theo, “You should go and see him though, I heard what you said to him; on the staircase before we reached the roof and the Harvester. It’s alright to admit that you…see the value in the Guardian Prime, Theo.”

“Oh.” The First Chimera frowned, feeling the uncomfortable rush of heat over his face. “Well, what is said during war is better left there.”

“If you wish.” Stiles answered, choosing not to push the issue. He nodded for a Guardian to open the door of the SUV. “I’m heading back to go a War Council meeting, the official debriefing on Operation Oblivion Vortex, so, all I’m saying is that it’ll be quiet on the south side of the Palace. No one else needs to know that the great and terrible Theo Raeken has feelings!”

“Sure, Stiles, I’ll think about it.” The First Chimera stepped back and gestured that they could leave without him. He turned to stare at the Archon’s Palace above them, remembering the arrival of the Guardian of the Ancient World a few weeks before, the last time the airport had been so hectic. The massive chimera was still on the battlefield, he had seen it slumbering at the edge of the Harvester’s ruined city as they returned to _Glória do Imperador._

Theo frowned as another memory sparked in his mind: Connor and Marric standing close together near the enormous airplane that had carried Stiles’ devastating siege weapon back from Ka’narack. It had been jealousy at the time that marked the moment for Theo, but as he walked slowly across one of the runways, another idea came to mind. “Maybe, that probably has a better chance of making him like me than just threats and violence…”

“First Chimera!”

The stiff response made Theo glance up, seeing that he had come to a stop in front of one of the Archon’s Learjets. “Ah, who’s aircraft is this?”

“That would be me, First Chimera.” The Archon bowed in front of him, coming down the stairs in a flowing gown of navy and sapphire. “Archon Esmeralda of the Australian Territories and Pacific Islands.”

“Yes, I remember you.” Theo nodded, “Rare enough that turtle and Elemental chimera gene sequences work together, you were an outstanding specimen.”

“You are too kind, First Chimera.” Esmeralda simpered. “What can this humble servant of the Emperor do for you?”

“I need your plane.” Theo replied, smirking a little as she struggled not to look surprised. “There is a very important chimera I want collected and brought here. You’ll need to fly to the Fount of Glory and then get one of the Guardians who remains there to take you to a secret research facility in the mountains called The Occulus. You’ll find the chimera in charge there, Marric, and bring him here, to me, and to me only. Understood?”

“I…yes, First Chimera, I’ll get my men-”

“No.” He broke in, shaking his head. “ _You_ will do it, Archon, that is a direct order from me, with the full authority of the First Chimera in the Imperial hierarchy. Do you understand?”

“I do.” Esmeralda bowed again, her scent slipping between fear and nervousness. “We will travel with all haste.”

“Good, I’ll be waiting to hear from you.” Theo grinned as he turned away, walking towards the terminal building, humming happily under his breath. _He’ll never expect this!_

 

Josh followed Nick through the bustling halls of the field hospital; the sprawling complex of tents and containers stretched back for miles from the staging post. It was a long, flat strip visible through gaps in the tarpaulin and was full of Ospreys landing and taking off, the sound of their engines a constant howl. The young chimera didn’t mind that however, preferring the machine noise to the screams and cries of pain from the wounded and dying around them. They were passing through the human wards, doctors and nurses pressing themselves flush against walls and doors to get out of the Dragon’s way. 

Nick looked furious, covered in smoke and dirt and blood from the battle, his wings no longer aflame, but still exposed, a pair of combat trousers ensuring his modesty as Josh caught up to him. The younger chimera’s wounds had been treated first, the corruption from the ooze was less severe than those who had been infected hours earlier, like his brother. Once the Emperor and His forces had taken out the Harvester, Josh had been able to recover, Nick getting him on his feet as soon as he was able. “Do you think we’re any closer?”

“Entering the chimera wards now.” Nick called over his shoulder. “These should be quieter and emptier: chimeras heal a lot faster.”

“Yeah.” Josh nodded, glancing at the rows of empty beds, only a few here or there occupied by the badly injured. The sudden silence was almost as unnerving, but the chimera released a sigh of relief when he could breathe normally, the stench of blood and fear and death left behind. They moved slower now, Nick pointing towards a curtained-off area at the end of the hallway. 

“Over here.”

“You sure?”

“It’s him, I’d know his scent anywhere.”

“Uh, yeah.” Josh nodded, nostrils flaring. “You’re right.” He pulled apart the curtains when the Dragon indicated that he was to go in first. “Jason?”

“I thought I heard your voices!” His brother was sitting up in bed, grinning at them. One arm was in a sling, and the shirtless chimera’s torso was bound with bandages, cuts and scrapes across the tops of his developed pectoral muscles healing gradually. “We won, right?”

“Jason!” Josh crossed the room quickly, pulling him into a tight hug, smiling as his twin returned the embrace, the unbandaged hand sliding around his neck to pull him closer. “I thought I lost you!”

“Can’t get rid of me that easily! Ow!” He rubbed his shoulder as Josh released him and hit his arm. “What was that for?”

“You dummy! You should have wrapped us both in ice and saved us!”

“We would have been stuck in the goop,” Jason shrugged, flicking his eyes above his brother’s head to where Nick was standing. “I know you probably Firestormed the area to pull me out, but that could’ve melted the ice barrier, so I figured at least you would survive, Josh.”

“It was brave,” Nick nodded, moving around to the other side of the bed as Josh sat beside Jason, grinning at him. “Stupid, but brave. Please don’t do anything like that again.”

“Hopefully, I won’t have to.” The chimera frowned at them. “You didn’t answer my question though: have we won?”

“Yeah, war’s over.” The Dragon replied, smiling as he hugged Jason carefully, his wings retracting and vanishing into his back. “The Emperor defeated the Harvester and sprung His trap; the monster is gone, and the goop has lost its power.”

“Awesome!” Jason grinned, kissing Nick, a quick press of their lips together. “Many losses?”

“A lot.” Nick sighed, pulling back slightly but keeping his hand on Jason’s shoulder. “The Guardian Prime was badly wounded, so I hear, and a lot of good chimeras and humans gave their lives for the Empire. But thankfully you weren’t one of them.”

“Uh huh. So, when am I getting out of here? The surgeon said that my injuries would take about a day to heal, but they’re not completely sure, since our regeneration acted kinda slow and weird when it encountered the goop.”

“You’re coming back to the Archon’s Palace now, right?” Josh glanced between Jason and Nick. “Aren’t we members of the Inner Pack? Can’t we just force them to release him?”

“I don’t think we’ll have to force anything, calm down.” Nick patted both their shoulders and stood up, relief flooding his scent and washing away the nervous tension that had filled it. “We have rooms at the Palace, you can rest there, I’m sure. I’ll find a doctor and see, ok?”

“Sure.” Josh nodded, watching Nick leave them and he turned back to his brother, smiling widely, eyes glimmering with emotion. He sat on the edge on the bed when Jason patted the covers, reaching over to hold his twin’s hand loosely. “I heard that the Archon is meant to be throwing this kickass victory party tomorrow or the day after, you better be up and ready for that!”

“When have I ever missed one of those?” Jason grinned, flicking his eyes over Josh’s body. “Were you injured?”

“Yeah, almost everyone was, especially at the final battle; the Harvester was unlike any monster we’d ever fought against.” He glanced to one side, eyes gazing into the distance as he recalled the fight. “Most of it is hazy, it all happened so quickly and everything, but the last thing I remember is this beam of energy being directed at it by the Emperor; all the Elements combined into one extremely powerful shot. But I think the Guardian Prime was in the way, that might have caused his injuries.”

“Yeah, but that chimera can heal through anything!” Jason nodded eagerly. “If Nick wasn’t my hero, that guy would be!”

“Haha,” Josh laughed quietly. “Yeah, I bet a lot of people see him as the greatest champion of them all; the ultimate chimera warrior. But hey, we have Nick, _the Dragon!_ ”

“Mmh, do you think he’ll be up for some fun at the party tomorrow?” Jason used his free hand to reach under the blankets and fondled himself. “Nearly dying sure makes you horny!”

“Ugh, you’re clearly getting better!”

 

Liam glanced at Philip, seeing the other chimera supporting himself against the balustrade with a grimace, his face paler than normal. He placed a hand on the Manticore’s back and leaned into him, offering comfort with a quiet murmur. “Are you sure you should be out of bed?”

“I’m fine.” Philip glanced at Liam, seeing purple fire bloom in his eyes. “The Emperor is using His influence to increase the rate of every chimera’s healing, and I need to stand up, walk around, I thought I was going to die on that battlefield.”

“You and me both.” Liam muttered, stepping away to grab a bottle of water, twisting the cap off and offering it to him. “Here, you sound thirsty.”

“Thanks.” Philip gulped it down gratefully. “So, you heard about the others yet? Anyone we know get taken out?”

“Um, most of the chimeras from my own squads survived, though there was about a twenty percent fatality rate.” Liam said, sitting down and facing Philip. “My own injuries weren’t too bad, Jackson and Alexander are ok, but Lydia not so much, the Harvester really did a number on her.”

“She’s in pain?”

“They have her in one of the upper chambers, both the Archons are fussing over her, but Jackson said he wants her to have the best care in the Empire, whether that means doctors, pain relief, or plastic surgeons.”

“That bad, huh?” Philip grimaced, feeling the side of his chest sympathetically. “Well, at least they can move whatever resources are required to help her without too much fuss. And the Emperor? I trust He survived without anything major happening?”

“Um, not exactly.” Liam shuffled closer as Philip sat next to him, not wanting to relinquish body contact after the scare they had the day before. He lowered his voice and began speaking again. “The rumor mill is in overdrive, of course, though Greenberg has squashed a lot of them with a flood of Imperial propaganda-”

“He prefers the term ‘enlightenment material,’ Liam.”

“I’m sure he does!” The chimeras shared a grin, before Liam continued. “Anyway, apparently the Harvester lashed out one last time and put a spike through the Emperor’s heart, pretty much killing him. Except, of course, hero Guardian Prime to the rescue.”

“Of course.” Philip murmured in agreement, placing his hand on top of Liam’s, enjoying the spike in the other chimera’s pulse at the action. “They’re both alive?”

“Yeah, so, Stiles, err, sorry.”

“It’s fine.” The Manticore dismissed the slip with a frown. “We’re alone after all. Go on.”

“Um, so, the Emperor was saved by some sort of…biological transfer, right?” Liam shrugged when Philip stared at him. “I don’t know the exact details, the chimeras gossiping about it said that they heard Connor literally gave him the flesh and bone from his chest, saving the Alpha Chimera’s life, but giving up his own.”

“What?” Philip cried out, alarmed. “You couldn’t have led with Connor dying?!”

“Relax, Connor is alive, he was brought back somehow. Some people are saying that the Emperor used his ‘god-like powers’ to revive him, and others are saying that Connor had redundant systems that saved his life, I don’t know.” Liam arched a brow. “I know you guys are kinda friendly, but I didn’t think you’d be _that_ upset?”

“The Emperor symbolises the ultimate strength of all chimeras everywhere, and the First Chimera represents the scientific progress that brought us forth to be the dominant species on this planet,” Philip explained, holding Liam’s attention. “But the Guardian Prime _is_ the Empire: religion is only a part of it, he’s the chimera all others look up to, no matter if you’re Faithful, military, scientific, or even just a human. Connor is a shining hero who lives the tenets of the Empire every day and looks for nothing in return. You know what I’m talking about, right?”

“Glory, Loyalty, Sacrifice.” Liam whispered almost automatically. “So, him dying would be a problem?”

“The Chimera Emperor is a god to most chimeras and humans: unknowable, unattainable, He rules from the Imperial Palace and is distant to all but the Inner Pack.” Philip took another drink and nodded at the city spread out below them. “And Theo is terrifying, the dark side of the Empire with no regard for Imperial law or, until recently, the legitimacy of the chimera religion. Very few would look to him to make the Empire better.”

“But Connor can.” Liam hummed, nodding. “After Scott’s…nuke, when he took power for a few days, I remember the way it felt in the Palace, suffering, grief, sure, but also this sense of hope, of security. You’re right that Theo wouldn’t inspire that.”

“Yeah, as long as the Guardian Prime survives, the Empire will thrive.” Philip stood up straight again, his expression lightening. “Ahh, I’m starving, how about we grab something to eat, pretty sure there’s gotta be some places offering discounts for battle-weary soldiers!”

“I think we should be able to eat for free.” Liam laughed, following him out the door, reaching for his hand and clasping it tight. “Actually, Jackson told me about this place down near the beach that catches its own fish and serves it that day, we should check it out.”

“Great!”

 

“He recovers.”

“But slowly.”

“The power of the Overmind beats strong within him.”

“Yet he does not feel as the Emperor does.”

“It is but a sliver.”

Connor blinked his eyes slowly open, groaning as he raised his head, pain blooming behind his eyes. He froze when he realized he was surrounded by the Ancient chimeras, their animal faces looking down at him in concern. “Ugh…”

“Rest, Guardian Prime,” Horus patted his arm gently, “You have suffered a great injury in your sacrifice to protect the Overmind.”

“That is my duty,” Connor mumbled, lips dry. “Why are you here?”

“The One Who Gathers has been vanquished.” Sobek replied, reaching over to offer Connor some water, crocodile head pulled away to avoid bumping into him. “The Guardian of the Ancient World rests, awaiting a new command. We have come to honor he who protects the Overmind.”

“Rest sounds good.” He finished sipping the water and looked down at his heavily bandaged chest and torso, the wrappings extending up his shoulders and down along his forearms. “The Emperor is well?”

“He has just returned from surveying the battlefield,” Bastet replied, her cat eyes sparkling with purple fire. “The War Council are in session downstairs, a full phalanx of Guardians surrounding Him.”

“Good, good.” Connor nodded. “Anything else I should know?”

“The Banshee is not long for this world,” Anubis spoke up, folding his tanned arms across a muscular chest. “I can smell her death approaching, she knows it too.”

“Her death-scream will be powerful.” Taweret frowned, the hippopotamus’s ears perking up. “Is there no way to save her? Lydia has served the Empire well.”

“There is a way.” Connor gestured for the notepad and pen on the nearby table, accepting them from Anubis. He wrote awkwardly, bandaged fingers making it difficult to use the pen. “Thank you, can one of you take this to Archon Jackson, I’d do it myself, but I can’t quite keep my eyes open.” The Guardian Prime yawned, handing the scrap of paper over. “There are samples of the Green Serum held in the lab off the coast of the city, a thimbleful is all that she needs to survive, she will have to heal the rest of the way on her own.”

“It will be done.” Sobek bowed his head low, eyes locking onto Connor’s. “We will see you again, Guardian Prime.”

“Goodbye.” Connor muttered, sinking back onto the piled-up pillows behind him, Anubis and Bastet remaining as the other two Ancient chimeras accompanied Sobek. “You’re waiting?”

“Yes.” The cat-headed chimera nodded simply, sitting on one side as Anubis did the same on the other side. “Rest now, protector of the Overmind, our master will need your guidance in the coming days.”

“Mmh.” Connor mumbled, about to ask what she meant, but tiredness dragged at him and his eyes closed as he fell into a restful slumber.

 

“There you are,” Stiles frowned at Theo. “Did you walk all the way from the airport? Where have you been?”

“Yeah, I walked.” Theo shrugged, wiping sweat from his brow with the t-shirt he held in his hands. He met Stiles on the steps of the Archon’s Palace, shirtless torso hot from the sun. “I wanted to see what the city was like, unlike you, I actually enjoy discovering more than just the many palaces of the Empire. Besides, it’s good to witness first-hand what the loyalists and normal chimeras think of the distant, glorious Chimera Emperor!”

“Oh?” Stiles gestured for Theo to join him, climbing the steps back into the cool interior of the wide entrance hall. “You can tell me as we return to our quarters; it’s pretty hot out there and you, err, you’re sweaty.” He wrinkled his nose as Theo smirked.

“There’s not much to tell, other than the fact that Jackson is clearly preparing for some sort of victory celebration.”

“That’s right.” The Emperor nodded. “It’ll be more of an informal gathering than anything so pompous and imperial as Greenberg is no doubt cooking up at home. He’s staying in Victory City, by the way, said that Commander Parrish did a good job keeping the peace and securing the capital after the traitor’s attack. A lot of rebuilding to do and we’ll need to wait a while for the fallout to fully disperse before allowing the humans to return, but the city will soon become the gleaming jewel in the crown of the Empire once again.”

“Save the speech for tomorrow night, Stiles!” Theo smirked, shoved him playfully and ignored the spike of hostility from the surrounding Guardians. “I was gonna say that it seems to be heading more towards street food, fireworks, and dancing than grand banquets and lines of fawning dignitaries anyway.”

“Good.” Stiles nodded, turning off to enter their quarters, stationing the Guardians at the entrance with a gesture. “I think everyone could do with letting off some steam after last night’s battle. And maybe you can fire up the shower and get your ass in there to steam-clean!”

“Hmm, only if you promise to come with me!” Theo grinned and dumped his sweat-soaked t-shirt into the laundry bin, stripping out of his trousers and trunks as he did so. With the cool air from the ocean blown towards him by fans, Theo turned slowly, smirking flirtatiously at Stiles. “Guardians are outside, Corey has the War and Imperial Councils sown up, I’m sure, and there’s nothing like a long, hot shower to relax the muscles and make you feel like the, uh, _Supreme Ruler of Earth!_ ”

“You know, if Connor heard you talking like that, he’d-”

“Punch me again?!”

“The fact that you sound so eager is all sorts of fucked up.” Stiles laughed at him, approaching Theo and unbuttoning his shirt as the other chimera reached for his belt buckle. “But he would be pretty pissed at you for taking that tone when speaking about the many titles that the people use to worship me!”

“Uh huh,” Theo grunted, pulling down Stiles’ trousers in one go, taking his socks off as the Alpha Chimera stepped forward. “At least then he’d be paying attention to me, and I do love the way blood splatters on perfect flesh. Even if it was my own, if he hit me a few times, it’d spray onto his face! That’s when he’s _just_ right, you know? So fucking-”

“Theo,” Stiles groaned, shaking his head as Theo’s cock hardened. “Stop talking.”

“Why?”

“For one, Connor will never do that to you if you or I ask him, and if he ever had actual reason to hurt you, he’d probably take you out so fast you wouldn’t even feel it.” Stiles explained, stepping into the gilt-covered bathroom, ornate mirror fogging up as steam rose from the large, panelled shower at the other end of the marble-floored room. “And for another, you’re ruining my image of Connor: stop trying to pervert him!” He followed Theo into the shower and closed the doors after them. “Please stop including him in your blood-soaked fantasies!”

“Oh, sorry,” Theo laughed, pulling Stiles against him, their foreheads touching as he ran his hands over the other chimera’s waist and ass, the water hitting his back. “I know he’s your _perfect_ chimera ideal, the white knight on a pedestal of marble!”

“Laugh if you want, but I’m pretty sure you’ll be the one staring at him tomorrow with enough lust in your scent to make everyone around us hard.”

“Hah,” The First Chimera leaned back, shrugging as though he didn’t care, allowing Stiles to drench his hair. “I think you might be pleasantly surprised actually, it’s gonna take time for Connor to warm up to me, since, you know, I can’t _make_ him, but-”

“You could try.” Stiles sniggered at Theo’s slightly bemused expression. “Because that’s worked so well for you in the past. What are you planning now?”

“You’ll see.” Theo closed his eyes, holding his face up to the shower head as he heard Stiles pop open the cap of the shower gel. “Do you have any meetings or audiences or things this evening?”

“Nope.” Stiles shook his head, squeezing the gel onto his hands, briefly rubbing them together before he applied the palms to Theo’s torso, pushing him back out of the spray so he could run his hands all over the tanned musculature. “I’m wide open.”

“You will be!” Theo smirked, glancing down to see Stiles’ dick hardening. “I do love a good victory fuck!”

“Yeah, I know.” Stiles rolled his eyes and pushed Theo further backwards out of the water, so he could soap up the chimera’s body better, the torrent hitting Stiles' shoulders instead. His hands moved across the slick, tanned skin as though it was silk; up along Theo’s forearm, his fingers and thumb straightening out as he navigated the wide bicep and solid mass of muscle, sweeping around the ball of his shoulder and then Stiles used both hands to spread the gel down Theo’s developed pectoral muscles. “Mmmh.”

“Uh huh.” Theo nodded, tilting his head back and closing his eyes as Stiles’ hands drifted lower, across the ridged muscle of his abs and lower still to the smoothness of his naval. He grunted when the Alpha Chimera grasped his hard cock, being jerked off slowly, carefully. Theo grinned and snapped his eyes open, thrusting into Stiles’ wet hands. “Ah, yeah, you want to suck it?”

“Not particularly.” Stiles smirked at his expression. “Having Corey here was good for that.”

“That’s a bit cold.” The First Chimera shook his head, seeing Stiles’ lips twitch. “But yeah, he’s a champion cock-sucker, that guy! Still, I guess that shows that we really do need a third person.”

“And if you think for one minute that Connor would suck your cock, you must be-”

“He’d suck yours!” Theo spoke across him, licking his lips seductively. “And I’d be pretty happy sucking on him…”

“Hey! Eyes on me, Theo!” Stiles reached up and tweaked one of his boyfriend’s nipples as the First Chimera’s eyelids fluttered. “Keep your fantasies for another time, there’s only one thing I want from you this evening, and I’m holding it.” He gave Theo’s cock a quick tug, the shower gel allowing him to slide the skin up and down quickly. “Got it?”

“As you command, Emperor!” Theo grinned and stepped forward aggressively, walking into the flow of water, washing the suds from his body. He gently pushed Stiles backwards, making sure that the Alpha Chimera was ready for the action, then dropped his hands to Stiles’ waist and flipped him around so his ass was facing Theo. “Mmh! Still as tight and awesome looking as ever, Stiles!”

“I would hope so!”

“Hehe, so you want this quick and hard? Or some prep first, and we take it slow?”

“Do the prep.” Stiles nodded, bracing himself on the shower door and sliding his legs back slowly, presenting his ass to Theo. “But I want it fast and hard, we can do the rest when we get on the bed.”

“Oh?” Theo’s grin got wider as his hands rested on his boyfriend’s ass, spreading the cheeks and massaging the area around Stiles’ smooth hole. “So, we’re making an evening of it?”

“Celebrating victory, and because I want to!”

“Always down for that.” Theo moaned as he caught sight of Stiles’ pucker. He reached behind himself for the showerhead, continuing to talk as he worked. “So, we’re really doing the space thing?”

“Yeah, I’ve had Marric working on the project for almost as long as he’s been searching for the second Overmind organ.” Stiles grunted, feeling Theo’s finger pushing into his ass. “I know we have plenty of other chimeras, but he and Connor work really well together and it’s as much the Guardian Prime’s vision as it is my own.”

“Hmm,” Theo frowned at him, using his free hand to jerk off slowly. “How long until we get some results though? A year? Ten?”

“Making it to space is easy; we’ll replace the satellites we’ve lost, set up a moon base for training and zero-gravity construction.” Stiles explained as Theo suddenly stopped moving. _Keep going!_ “Ah! Better. Ok, so then, we grab the other planets in our system, use them as test sites for colonization, survival, and chimera adaptation for space and alien worlds. Once the Leviathan class chimeras have been thoroughly tested and equipped, that’s when we start pushing out into the rest of the galaxy.”

“Oh, yeah, not ambitious at all!” Theo muttered, taking the offered bottle of lube from Stiles. He pulled out his fingers and slathered his cock in the gel. “I’m ready.”

“I know.” Stiles glanced at him over his shoulder, smiling at Theo’s aroused expression and purple eyes. He cast his gaze down the chimera’s muscular, tanned body towards his long, shiny cock and nodded. “I’m ready too.”

“Great!” Theo lined himself up, hands on Stiles’ waist, tip pushing between the firm ass cheeks as the hot shower continued to spray steam and water behind them. He knew Stiles was ready when the Alpha Chimera pushed back into him, impaling himself on Theo’s cock, the movement causing him to thrust forward, burying himself in Stiles’ clenching hole. “Ugh, fuck, that’s good!”

“Yeah,” Stiles muttered, lowering his head to touch against the glass. One of Theo’s hands rested on his hip, his cock holding still, while the chimera’s other hand moved up his chest, fingers splayed and stopping at Stiles’ nipple, flicking it into hardness. “Yes…”

“Mmh,” Theo groaned, feeling an increase in resistance as he pushed the rest of his thick dick into Stiles, leaning back slightly and thrusting with his hips. “You feel tense.”

“I _am_ tense!” 

“Ah, so, this is why we’re fucking in the shower and not waiting to get to the bed!” The chimera laughed, the sound dying away when Stiles pulled his body forward, dragging his hole up Theo’s shaft for a few seconds and then sliding all the way back, making them both groan in pleasure. “I get the message: less talking, more fucking!”

“Finally.” Stiles whispered, reaching up to wipe the condensation from the glass so he could see out into the bathroom, grinning slightly when the mirror in front of him showed a partial reflection of Theo’s parted lips and half-closed eyes. His boyfriend began moving in and out of him, a slow, steady pace that produced just enough pleasure for Stiles to stay silent, knowing that Theo would inevitably speed up. 

“Aw, yeah!” Theo moaned, his hands back on Stiles’ hips, thrusting back and forth faster now; short, sharp snaps of his hips, accompanied by moments of frantic pounding as he sought to make Stiles moan and gasp and groan his name. This was different from their other nights of languid pleasure where they would take their time and switch positions and roles. _This_ was about getting off. They both needed the dull ache of rapid release after the battle the night before. Theo knew that the hours after however…they would be filled with lust and passion. The chimera changed tactic, switching to longer, more determined strokes; pulling out his cock almost all the way as Stiles clenched his ass around him, before ploughing back inside quickly before his boyfriend had the chance to relax. “Yeah! Fuck, yeah, Stiles!”

“Oh, Theo, you are so fucking hot right now!” Stiles arched backwards, pushing himself deeper onto Theo’s cock and reached his hand out to grasp the back of the other chimera’s head, pulling Theo’s lips onto his. Even at the awkward angle, Stiles felt his cock tremble and flames of pleasure race from his ass to his dick and flare upwards towards his chest. After several seconds of frantic kissing, the Alpha Chimera released him and fell forwards again, hands pressing against the glass to provide support. “That’s it, Theo, don’t hold back!”

“Never do!” He growled, rolling his head back and biting his lip. “I won’t be able to last much longer.”

“Good.”

“Yeah,” Theo grinned at the hunger in Stiles’ voice, sliding his hand around to grasp the Alpha Chimera’s cock and jerked Stiles off in time to his own movements. “I’ll clean up afterwards, but do you want be filled or…?”

“Hmm, finally, a fun decision!” Stiles laughed, shrugging his shoulders. “I don’t know, Theo, I want a long night with you, so better that you pull out and just spray all over my butt, huh?”

“Yep, I can do that!” The First Chimera mumbled, feeling his balls draw up and the pleasing sensation flood through his body. He pushed back into Stiles one final time, dropping his head to lick a strip up his boyfriend’s back and kissed his neck with an intensity that made Stiles groan. The Alpha Chimera’s hand was with Theo’s on his cock, both of them working to get him off at the same time as Theo pulled out, his free hand jerking rapidly. He broke away from Stiles’ body and looked instead at his ass, rubbing the tip of his pre-cum slick cock against the smooth flesh. “Aw! I’m so fucking close!”

“Cum for me, Theo! Fucking cum for me!” Stiles commanded, groaning when he heard Theo’s moans becoming louder and the sensation of his boyfriend’s cock pushing against his ass became even slipperier. “Aw, yeah, Theo, fuck, yeah!”

“Yes! Yes! YES!” Theo shouted, his face tilted up, lips parted, expression locked in ecstasy. He jerked himself off quickly, ropes of cum flying out of his cock to land across Stiles’ ass and back, the pleasure heightened by the Alpha Chimera’s subtle enhancement of his senses. Theo groaned as he finished cumming, using his cock to smear the cream over Stiles’ skin, dipping his cock into the valley between his butt cheeks, rubbing the shaft up and down repeatedly. “Are you close, Stiles?”

“So very close, Theo!” He moaned, his hand moving rapidly up and down the shaft, the wet slap of flesh on flesh pulling him into higher heights as Theo continued to provide him that extra modicum of satisfaction. Stiles tilted his head sideways, grinning in between moans when Theo began kissing him at the junction of his neck and jaw, allowing him to roll his entire body backwards into Theo’s supporting hands, giving himself up to the waves of lust and desire washing over his body. “Ugh! Ugh! Uh, oh, yeah, here it comes, Theo!” Stiles gave himself one last flick of his wrist and moaned when he felt his cock shudder, eyes open for a second to see the fountain of cum shoot up and splash against his heaving abs. “Fuck, ugh! Theo, yeah!”

“Hehe, that was a good start.” Theo grinned at him, leaning forward to kiss his lips. “We’ll have to go a bit longer next time though.”

“We do have _all_ night,” Stiles smiled back at him. He turned around and gently pushed Theo back under the spray of the still hot shower. “Now that there is nothing left to oppose us, there’s nothing left to interrupt us!” 

 

The sun was still warm, not quite falling below the horizon when Corey and Garrett arrived at the beach, the younger chimera groaning unhappily. “Damn it! I thought I’d get out of that meeting sooner, sorry Garrett.”

“It’s fine.” The Löwenmensch patted his shoulder comfortingly and gestured towards the blue ocean waves lapping at the sandy shore. “Let’s head down to the edge, dip our feet in, and go for a walk through the surf. There’s plenty of beaches back in Victory City anyway.”

“Yeah, I guess.”

“Hmm,” Garrett took Corey’s hand into his own, clasping it firmly and pulling him along. “C’mon!”

Corey laughed and ran along with him, kicking off his shoes and hopping on one foot and then the other to pull off his socks. The air was calm, the ocean’s breeze dying away as evening pulled in, both chimeras loosening their shirts, though only Corey pulled his off, Garrett deciding to remain at least partially clothed. “You ok?”

“Yeah, I’m great.” The Löwenmensch smiled at him, squeezing his hand as they reached the surf, splashing their feet through the waves that rolled up the sandy shore. “Honestly, I never thought I’d be here.”

“In _Glória do Imperador?_ ”

“With you, dummy!” Garrett nudged him gently, seeing Corey’s eyes sparkle as the younger chimera grinned. “I mean, after everything that has happened…and I’m not just talking about the Harvester.”

“Yeah, I know what you mean.” Corey nodded slowly, the smile fading from his lips. They began to walk slowly through the warm water along the shoreline, still holding hands. “You’re talking about the Ghost Riders, which, err, we’ve never really actually talked about.”

“Do you want to?”

“No,” Corey glanced at him and shrugged. “I don’t like thinking about it, about what you were trying to do, about the thousands who died because of your choices.”

“I know, I’m sorry.” Garrett paused and turned towards him, eyes flicking over Corey’s lean, defined torso. He brought his hands up to rest on the younger chimera’s waist and kept their eye contact. “I don’t know if this is something that we _should_ discuss, or if it’s better to just leave it be?”

“We’re the founders of the Empire, Garrett.” Corey replied after a moment of thought. “Me, you, Stiles, Theo, I guess you could add Connor in there too, he’s done a lot to legitimize our rule. But the point is that we’re the ones who went from being a part of a small chimera pack in Beacon Hills to becoming the rulers of the entire fucking world, with all the death and destruction such a change brings!”

“No empire’s foundations are clean of blood and suffering, Corey.” The Löwenmensch said, glancing back at the imposing statue of the Emperor that had been built on the mountain over the city. “The difference between the Chimera Empire and every other one is that nothing is coming after it, that there will be no more blood spilled. Once the remaining humans are chimeras, the only difference that divides the Empire will be the choice between immortality and family. No suffering, no war, no illness.”

“I know.” Corey nodded, turning away and beginning to walk again, Garrett following beside him. “I guess the point I was trying to make was that Stiles and Theo have done some pretty cruel and ruthless things and I still love them. So, regardless of what happened, I still love you, Garrett.”

“Thanks, Corey.” He reached out and took the younger chimera’s hand, pulling his body close to his own. Garrett’s other hand trailed up Corey’s chest and rested on his neck, gently tilting his face towards him. “I love you too.” Their lips touched, and he closed his eyes, slipping his free hand around Corey’s back to better support him as Corey leaned in closer, bucking against crotch. “Horny, huh?!”

“How can I not be?” Corey pulled away from him and spun slowly. “We’ve got a little bit of sun left, the sea, the hot sand! And we’re all alone, at last.”

“I thought you’d want to wait until after the party tomorrow night?”

“Why would I want to wait?” Corey frowned at him, raising his hands to push open Garrett’s shirt and run his fingers across the Löwenmensch’s smooth, hard muscles. “I mean, we can celebrate after the party and do some stuff that we can’t do now, but, c’mon! Haven’t you ever wanted to make out under the stars, on a tropical beach?!”

“Uh, sure, why not?” Garrett shared his grin and stripped off his shirt, seeing Corey’s eyes light up. He wetted his lips and picked up the surprised chimera suddenly, hugging Corey to his chest and gripping his firm ass through his shorts. “Alright then! Let’s at least move to a more sheltered part of the beach.”

“Yes!”

 

“Just wait here a minute, ok?” Theo said to Marric, holding out his hand to stop the raven-haired youth from following him inside the apartment. “I’ll give you the signal.”

“Certainly, First Chimera.”

“Cool,” Theo grinned and pushed open the door, moving into the brightly painted central room, morning sunlight spilling in through open balcony doors, only the slight hint of a breeze to offer respite from the burning sun. The chimera walked across the patterned wood flooring and stopped near the bed, waiting for Connor to wake up. He studied the Guardian Prime’s face, not quite relaxed as he slumbered; brows pulled together, mouth held shut, the slow rise and fall of his chest against the covers. Theo wet his lips as he dragged his gaze down Connor’s shirtless body, fixing his eyes on the flexed muscles of the chimera’s arm from where Connor was gripping the pillow against his chest. 

“Yes?”

“Ah!” Theo started, blinking and pulling his eyes up to meet Connor’s stare. “Err, hi.”

“First Chimera.” His throat was dry, his voice not weak exactly, more like he hadn’t used it much that day. “What can I do for you?”

“Um, it’s more what _I_ can do for you!” Theo grinned at him, self-assurance flooding through him again. “I brought you something, to, err, speed your recovery!”

“I will be up and about before the day’s end.” Connor replied, forcing himself to sit upright in the bed and pulling the covers more securely around his waist. He gestured at his bandaged torso. “My wounds are healing rapidly, I do not require anything to speed my recovery.”

“Did I say something? Oh, I meant _someone!_ ” Theo grinned at him as Marric entered the room, raising his hand in greeting. “The Emperor said that you two were best friends, and as Guardian Prime, that’s a luxury you don’t often get to enjoy. Consider it a…gift for saving his life, Connor. Hang out, spend some time together; there’s a party this evening to celebrate our victory, so come to that!”

“That’s…kind of you, First Chimera.” Connor replied after a moment, glancing between Theo and Marric, brows furrowed. 

“Yeah, well, I am capable of that from time to time.” Theo shrugged, still smiling even as he felt the tension form in the air between them, Connor instantly having become guarded and suspicious. He looked at Marric first and then back to Connor. “Well, I’ll leave you guys to it then.”

“Sure.” Marric nodded and moved closer to the bed, smiling at Connor. “It’s good to see you, and that you’re alive!”

“You didn’t think I would be?” Connor returned the expression, his face softening as he did so. Theo was lingering at the door, watching their interaction, but the two chimeras didn’t seem to notice him. 

“Well, I’m always hearing on the news how the ‘great hero of the Chimera Empire’ sacrificed himself to save countless others!” Marric replied, his voice becoming faintly mocking. “Seriously, you have half the planet wanting to immortalize you in gold.”

“And the other half?”

“They just want to get into your pants!” Marric laughed, sitting on the bed next to Connor, his back to Theo. “You’re not gonna ask me what side I’m on?”

“Hmm, I’m not sure I want to know.” Connor smirked at him, his scent becoming looser and more relaxed than Theo had ever smelt before. “But you’re going to tell me, right?”

“Can’t I be on both?!”

“Haha!”

“Gah!” Theo scowled and slipped out of the apartment before his jealousy spiked the air. He stopped outside and leant back against the wall, still able to hear the other two chimeras’ voices. The First Chimera frowned as the conversation changed rapidly, listening intently.

“Are you alright?” Connor asked Marric, his voice edged with concern. “How did Theo even know where you were?”

“I’m fine, Connor, don’t worry. One of the Archons came with orders from the First Chimera, I thought it was something related to the Overmind project, or maybe to do with the Chimera Space Program,” Marric explained, the creak of bedsprings indicating he was moving around. “But there was a Guardian with me the whole way from The Occulus to the airport outside _Glória do Imperador._ ”

“Still, you were alone with Theo for the remainder of the journey, he could’ve…”

Theo arched a brow as Connor trailed off. _So, he’s thinking that I had some sort of nefarious plan to kill off Marric and use it against him? Parade his dead body around or use his blood for pleasure? Well, that might have been something I would have considered in the past but-_ He paused mid-thought as Connor spoke again.

“Theo Raeken is never kind, Marric, cruelty and sadism are his core traits.” The Guardian Prime warned the younger chimera. “He is an effective warrior for the most part, and we cannot overlook his contribution to chimera science, but he does not do things like this without an agenda. I need you to be careful, find the Guardian that accompanied you here from The Occulus and ensure you are always in their presence. Theo might be attempting to set you up, or even just kill you outright, part of some message he’s trying to send me.”

“I understand, Connor.” Marric replied as Theo glared at the opposite wall, furious. “But don’t worry too much, I am a fire Elemental, I can protect myself!”

“I know. Now, tell me about the latest experiments into the Leviathan class chimeras…” 

Theo pushed himself off the wall and stalked down the corridor, muttering darkly. “Still thinks I’m out to get him? Or does he really think I’d destroy one of Stiles’ most important research chimeras just to get to him?! Ok, well, fine, maybe I would!” The First Chimera slowed down as he exited into a courtyard near the center of the Archon’s Palace. It was deserted, and Theo tilted his head back into the sunlight, throwing out his arms. “Hmm, maybe the charm offensive needs to get better or last longer? At this rate it’ll be decades before I get what I want from Connor!”

 

“You’re sure he’s gone?” Marric asked him as Connor nodded slowly. “Why do you think he was listening in?”

“I don’t know, maybe he’s trying to gain some sort of advantage?” Connor shrugged. “Theo has been overly friendly of late; he said some things during the battle that maybe he regrets now. It’s easy to lose the run of your emotions when death and blood is raining down around you.”

“Sure, but do you really think he’d try and kill me?” Marric asked, meeting Connor’s eyes. “Why would he do that?”

“Possibly to try and stake a claim, mark his territory, that sort of thing.” Connor smirked. “He is one of the few chimeras who can turn fully into an animal, maybe there is some lingering primordial instincts as a result of that.”

“Well, that’s disturbing.” Marric mumbled, shaking his head. “Moving on…”

“Gladly.”

“Everything is going well at home, I do miss Ka’narack though, it was always warm there, and there’s so much left to discover, Connor!” The younger chimera grinned, excitement filling his voice. “I know we have the CSP to start planning for, and that will take up a lot of time for the next few years, or centuries, but I want to go back to studying the city of the Overmind. I feel like we’ve barely scratched the surface!”

“So, you’ve made up your mind about taking the Purple Serum?” The Guardian Prime shifted about, trying to get comfortable. He smiled and placed a hand on Marric’s arm when the younger chimera made to move. “No, please stay, I’m just restless.”

“Ok.” Marric returned the grin, putting one of his hands onto Connor’s, sighing contentedly. “But yeah, I wanna live forever, especially if that means working alongside you. I’m thinking of maybe reaching eighteen or twenty first though, I know youth and beauty is great and all, but maybe I’ll grow a little taller before I commit to being immortal!”

“Haha, you're nearly seventeen, I'm not sure that's gonna happen.” Connor laughed and nodded. “But it's still probably a good idea, I’m sure there’ll be regulations on how the Purple Serum is to be applied anyway.”

“Hmm, so what was it like?” Marric asked as a comfortable silence fell between them, Connor extracting his hand and folding his arms across his chest, a moment of pain flashing across his features. “The battle?”

“It’s not the worst fight I’ve been at,” The Guardian Prime replied slowly. “Maybe the one where we’ve lost the most though. The enemy was nothing like what we’ve fought before; it could create soldiers from the dead and dying and use itself as a resource. Hard to fight something like that.”

“That won’t be the story that the Minister for Chimera Enlightenment will push out though.” The younger chimera shook his head. “I already saw them hailing it as a great victory against a world-eating monster that sought to destroy everything we’ve ever worked for. There was some mention of the dead and wounded, but that was mostly glossed over.”

“As to be expected.” Connor shrugged. “Just as much as I’d be surprised if it was revealed the Emperor was mortally wounded by the Harvester; He is a god after all, they are not meant to die.”

“Maybe not, but I’m sure He’s grateful for your sacrifice, Connor.”

“I do not require His gratitude.” The Guardian Prime replied quietly, yawning as tiredness swept across him. “The Guardians exist solely for the purpose of defending the Emperor and giving our lives for His, if it comes to that.”

“Sure,” Marric nodded, averting his gaze to look out the window at the azure sky instead. “And even though that’ll still be your main job, I’m looking forward to collaborating with you again on the Chimera Space Program. You know, after everything you’ve done for the Empire, maybe He could grant you some sort of, I don’t know, official sanction?”

“For what?”

“For, um, us?” Marric asked, cheeks flushing as he whispered the word. “You said that after the war was over, you’d consider going out with me?”

“I remember.” Connor smiled at him, waiting for the younger chimera to look at him. “I keep my word, Marric, as long as you understand that my duty to our master will always come first.”

“I can live with that.” Marric nodded happily, rubbing his hand along Connor’s muscular arm. 

 

Josh and Jason were the first to enter the plaza ahead of Nick, both of them stopping short just inside the wide arches that led back to the Archon’s Palace. They looked at each other with a grin and kept moving when Nick pushed them forward gently. “This is awesome!” Josh said, gazing around at the colorful decorations; ribbons and garlands hanging from every available space, long banners rippling in the slow breeze, their red and purple hues bringing out the Imperial symbols emblazoned on their surface in gold and silver. The center of the mile-wide plaza was set up with a podium and long table, the throne in the middle drawing their eyes away from the decorations. 

“Pretty cool, huh, bro?” Jason nudged him, limping slightly as he moved through the crowds of chimeras and humans already spread throughout the plaza. “C’mon, let’s get some food!”

“All you’ve done since you got out of the hospital is eat!” Josh muttered darkly, glancing back at Nick. “You don’t think this is some sort of Harvester trick where the ones with Corruption sickness try and eat everything in sight?”

“Uh, no, I don’t think so.” The Dragon laughed at him and patted his bare stomach. “I’m pretty hungry too, and your brother normally eats everything around him anyway!”

“I guess.” The younger chimera lifted his head and sniffed the air appreciatively. “Mmh, that barbequed fish does smell nice though!”

“Yeah, I was talking to Philip earlier and he was telling me about this restaurant he and Liam went to last night,” Nick said, hurrying after Jason, the chimeras and humans parting before him in respect. “The Manticore said it was the _greatest_ thing he’s ever eaten: all spicy and salty and perfect! We gotta try that fish.”

“Mmmh!” Josh grinned, swallowing hard as he began to salivate. They caught up to his brother, Jason standing in front of the line of grills, plate in hand and looking between the charred fish and roasted meat nearby. “Don’t know what to get?”

“I’m thinking both.” Jason nodded over Josh’s head at the other end of the plaza. “I just spoke to someone who said that there’ll be a band and DJ set up over there, apparently the Archon throws these types of parties regularly as a way to keep the population happy.”

“Well, that explains how they were able to set everything up so quickly.” Josh replied, taking the plate offered to him by Nick and joining his brother at the grill. “Um, give us one of everything!”

 

Philip accepted the beer glasses from Liam as the other chimera sat down next to him. They were across the square from the food area, having grabbed a table and chairs near the podium, watching people come and go. “Thanks.”

“You’re welcome.” Liam nodded, clinking his glass against Philip’s. “It was really busy when I got there, but then everyone just sorta moved out of my way and they served me instantly. Weird.”

“Hmm, not really.” He shook his head. “You’re a hero of the Chimera Empire, Liam, whether or not you want that. You’ve been on our side since the beginning and were one of the first werewolves to become a full chimera, that holds a lot of water with most of us. Plus, you’re Inner Pack, that comes with certain privileges.”

“Such as jumping the line for drinks?” Liam grinned. “I guess I can settle for the perks of fame!”

“Uh huh.” Philip gestured towards the entrance, surprise lacing his voice. “Is that Lydia? I thought she was really badly wounded in the final battle with the Harvester?”

“Yeah, she was.” Liam frowned, following his pointed finger. The Banshee was accompanying both Jackson and Alexander, the Archons making a grand entrance as the surrounding chimeras clapped and cheered for them. “Hmph, we didn’t get applause…”

“That’s from them being Archons, Liam.” Philip smirked, taking another drink. “I don’t think you’d like that job though. It’s not all throwing lavish parties and getting recognition for them!”

“Yeah,” The chimera shrugged, brows still pulled together as Lydia cleared the crowd, heading towards the podium with the other two. She was wearing a long, trailing gown, diamonds woven into the blue fabric, causing it to sparkle in the soft lighting coming from the flaming braziers placed around the plaza. “There’s not a mark on her, at least that we can see.”

“So, what does that mean?”

“Could she have been made a chimera?”

“No.” Philip shook his head. “Connor said that any Banshee the First Chimera experimented on for the purposes of conversion died on the table. There’s some basic component in their DNA structure that prohibits the addition of other sequences.”

“Then what?” Liam paused, lowering his voice. “The Purple Serum is meant to keep us alive forever, right? Could she have been given some? Would it even work on her?”

“I don’t know, we should ask her the next time we’re near them.” The Manticore suggested. “Alexander might know something, but he’s very loyal to the Emperor, so if it was a personal favor from Him, the Archon won’t say.”

“But I know Jackson, he might tell us.” Liam added, looking up as House music filled the air from discrete speakers hidden in the arches above them. He grinned at Philip and nodded towards the nearby chimeras, already dancing. “You know, if I had known that there was going to be this many shirtless guys dancing around us, I would’ve-”

“Worn less?!” Philip laughed, casting his eyes up and down Liam’s tight-fitting vest. He stood up and pulled off his own t-shirt, beginning to gyrate to the beat. “Hmm, maybe you’ll burst out of it if you flex those killer pecs hard enough! Or maybe I can help get you out of it another way?”

“Well, I’m not going to deny you the chance to try.” Liam grinned back and drained his beer, joining Philip among the other dancers, pulling the chimera close and pumping his arms into the air. “Yeah!”

 

Theo waited with Stiles as Corey and Garrett entered the plaza in front of them, the younger chimera smiling at him, hand clasped by the Löwenmensch. The First Chimera nodded and returned his grin, waving slightly at them as they were swallowed up by the crowd. “It’s a real party atmosphere in there, Stiles.”

“I know.” The Emperor grinned. “It’s great! They know that we are victorious; the final victory, Theo, the one that counts the most.”

“Mmh.” He grunted, spotting Connor and Marric approaching them, the Ancient chimeras walking alongside the Guardian Prime. _Regal looking bunch._ Theo thought to himself, eyes slipping over Marric and his spiked hair, a snazzy black suit that was somehow not as formal as it appeared. He looked away quickly when the chimera caught his gaze, diverting the attention to Connor. Theo felt a smile pull at his lips, seeing the Guardian Prime back in his armor, the metal polished and gleaming, as though it had never seen a minute of battle. The long red cloak that hung over his shoulders fluttered gracefully in the wind, his arrival prompting the other Guardians to turn to him in deference. _Almost perfect, a little less shine and lot more blood and I’d-_

“Theo?” Stiles broke into his thoughts, giving him a sharp elbow in the stomach. “It’s almost time. The Guardian Prime and his group will enter first, then us.”

“Cool, so, we’re gonna get the chance to move around, right? I don’t want to be stuck talking to some General all night when I can hear awesome music and smell some hot food!” Theo caught Stiles’ eye and grinned. “Great! Let’s go then!”

“Guardian Prime?” The Chimera Emperor turned to his most faithful chimera, reaching out to place a hand on his shoulder. “Are you sure you are well enough to be here? I have other Guardians, you don’t have to work tonight.”

“Thank You, Emperor, but my wounds are healing rapidly.” Connor bowed his head, avoiding direct eye contact with Stiles as Theo watched him carefully. “While I may not be moving on the dancefloor this evening, I wouldn’t miss the celebration of our glorious victory for the world. Besides, Ryan is more than capable of protecting You.”

“Huh?” Theo turned and looked at the Guardian Connor was pointing at; slightly taller than him, but the armor helped Ryan to tower over them, his dark brown hair was tossed across his head in a style that was neither accidental or planned. Theo nodded slowly, approving his flushed cheeks and full, plump lips, imagining a broad chest and smooth muscles under the plates of metal. The chimera's eyes were quick and sharp, expression serious as he bowed to Connor. _Handsome in a way, I sure wouldn't say no, but compared to the Guardian Prime? Haha. If Connor thinks he's good enough to protect Stiles, then I'll take his word on it._ “Ok.”

“Well, since Theo approves!” Stiles laughed and patted Connor’s shoulder. “After you, my friend. I’ll see you on the podium.”

“As You command, Emperor.” Connor placed his hand on Marric’s back and guided the younger chimera away from them. The Ancient chimeras bowed shortly to the Emperor and continued inside, still flanking the Guardian Prime.

“Alright, Theo, let’s go.” Stiles offered him his arm, grinning when Theo accepted it, the Guardians fanning out behind the couple. The Emperor walked forward into rapturous applause, smiling regally at his subjects while Theo’s eyes remained locked on Connor’s back. 

 

Stiles stepped up to the lectern at the center of the podium, the Guardians taking their positions to the left and right of him, Connor, Marric, and Theo standing close behind him, Corey and Garrett to his left, the Ancient chimeras on his right. There was a cluster of microphones in front of him and the hovering drones of a dozen TV channels spread out across the space left at the front of the podium for the media. _What I’m about to say will be recorded in history for all time as the victory speech of the last war of the great Chimera Empire! So, no pressure, Stiles, just repeat what they all want to hear._ He wetted his lips and smiled, beginning to speak.

“Greetings to you all, my glorious Chimera Empire!” Stiles’ smile got wider as he heard the reaction from the crowd in front of him. “This is a day that we have longed for since I first put the idea of an Empire to my beloved Theo, the First Chimera. Did I think that we ever achieve such magnificence? Did I believe that hundreds, thousands of you would ever become my faithful chimeras? That you would join myself and Theo and Corey and all the others who were there at the beginning in our quest for global emancipation for all chimerakind?!” 

He paused, taking a breath and nodding slowly around the plaza as the voices of his supporters grew silent. “Yes. That is the simple answer, for we are _chimeras!_ And we alone wield the power necessary to rule this world!” Stiles grinned as the sound of cheering and chanting echoed around him again. “Never doubt that I will be satisfied with only a part victory, for I demand total compliance! Those who have stood against us, be they Kitsune, human, Ghost Rider, Werewolf, or horrible abomination, they cannot possibly overcome the strength and unity of our divine Chimera Empire! This world is ours to rule! But it will not be the last.”

The Emperor glanced at Connor, seeing him nod, and turned back to the cameras. “We will repair the damage caused by the wars of aggression of our enemies, we will rebuild the cities of this Earth to reflect the glory and brilliance of our Empire, and when we have completed the construction of a monument to honor our fallen brothers and sisters who sacrificed their lives for _our_ survival, then, my chimeras, then I will show you the true extent of my vision for our people!"

"We will build ships to plough the depths of space, we will conquer worlds and turn them into new colonies for our might to ever spread outwards, we will discover the secrets of this universe and bend them to our will. For we are chimeras, the greatest civilisation to ever rise in all of history! And we will expand our unity across all space under auspices of the glorious Galactic Chimera Empire, until the very stars themselves burn with purple fire!” He yelled out the final sentence, arms held aloft as a shower of violet fireworks exploded overhead. The cheering was deafening now, and Stiles grinned, lowering his hands, making sure to look into each of the cameras as he finished his speech. “So, enjoy our victory tonight, my loyal subjects, for it is the first of many such triumphs. Glory to the Chimera Empire!”

“Glory!”

“Masterfully done, Emperor.” Connor whispered to him as Stiles waved goodbye and walked over to the group, the cheering still as loud and enthusiastic around them. “As ever, Your voice will be heard across the Empire and all will hasten to enact Your divine will.”

“Thank you, Connor.” Stiles grinned at him, touching his arm. “Come and sit with me, err, you too, Marric, we should talk a few things over about the Chimera Space Program.”

“As You command, Emperor.”

 

Connor tapped his foot in time to the music, sitting at one of the tables and chairs off to the side of the plaza, the podium having been cleared away after the Emperor and His party had eaten. His master and Theo were speaking to the other Archons, the Guardians standing close by. Connor nodded approvingly as he observed Ryan constantly looking around, checking for threats, ever ready to intervene should the situation require it. “Hmm? Sorry, Marric, I didn’t hear you.”

“It’s nothing major, I just wanted to know if you wanted another drink?” The younger chimera stood up, following Connor’s eyes over to the Emperor. “He’ll be alright, Connor, the Guardians have it covered.”

“I know, just hard to take a step back.” The Guardian Prime replied, handing him his glass. “Can you get me another soda, please?”

“Sure, I’ll be back in a minute, ok?”

“Yeah.” Connor nodded, changing the focus of his attention from the Emperor to Marric, making sure he wasn’t in any danger as the handsome young chimera crossed through the arches to the refreshments bar. The Guardian Prime froze, feeling eyes on his back and turned around, relaxing when he saw one of the Archons standing in front of him. “Yes? Do you want something?”

“Prophet of the Emperor, we wanted to thank you for delivering victory to our forces.” The Archon bowed deeply and offered him a richly decorated box.

“We?” Connor looked around, seeing a large group of the ceremonially robed Exarchs emerge from the dancers and partiers, surrounding his table. Several high-ranking Chimera Army officers had joined them, moving closer to him, all grinning at him. He accepted the box and nodded. “Oh, well, that’s kind of you to say, but it was our master, the divine Chimera Emperor who created this triumph and led us to victory in battle.”

“Of course, Guardian Prime,” A General bowed at him, glaring at the others around him. “To suggest otherwise is heretical. We simply wished to honor you as a hero of the Empire and to ensure that you know who will stand with you, should the Empire ever be troubled again.”

“Yes, that’s-”

“I know it’s unprofessional,” One of the younger Exarchs gushed, pushing forward towards the chair. “But can I get your autograph?”

“Err…”

“Get out of the way!” Marric shouldered through the pack, glaring at the chimeras and Faithful. He put the two glasses of soda down on the table and turned around. “The Guardian Prime is still recovering from wounds inflicted by the Harvester, please move back!”

“Let us pray for you, then.”

“That’s not-”

“The Guardian of the Overmind has asked you to step aside.” Horus walked around from the bar area, the rest of the Ancient chimeras joining him. “We would suggest that you comply.”

“Agreed.” Sobek nodded, the jaws of his crocodile head remaining parted after he had spoken. 

“Well, perhaps we can offer the prayer for you from over there!” The young Exarch said hurriedly, backing away from them as the group retreated. “Thank you for this audience, Guardian Prime.”

“Phew,” Marric sighed and collapsed into the chair. He sipped his drink and shook his head, exchanging a look with Connor. “That was intense! I’m kinda surprised they just left.”

“Well, think about it,” Connor said as the Ancient chimeras sat down around them in a protective circle. “Are you really going to argue with a six foot tall crocodile?” 

“I guess not!” The younger chimera grinned and looked at Horus, “Um, do you want a drink or…?”

“We have tasted your beer, it is too thin.” Anubis shook his head, sniffing at Connor’s glass. “But what drink is this?”

“Um, soda? Coke? I’ll get a tray.” Marric shrugged and stood up, pausing as Taweret joined him. “I can handle it.”

“I will aid you in any case.” The hippopotamus’ deep voice rumbled, and she gestured for them to go. The Ancient chimera looked knowingly at Connor, seeing his nod of gratitude and followed Marric back to the bar.

“This is turning into quite the unusual night.” Connor muttered, his foot tapping along to the music again, joined this time by the remaining Ancients. “Yup, pretty weird.”

 

Stiles had left the Archons and other admirers behind, leaning against one of the pillars near the dance floor, watching as Theo and Corey partied across from him. Connor and the Ancient chimeras were still close, the Guardian Prime not relinquishing his role even as Stiles gestured for the other Guardians to fall back into the shadows. The Emperor glanced to his right, seeing Lydia limping over to him. “Ah, my favorite Banshee, good to see that you’ve made such a…remarkable recovery.”

“Thank you.” She replied tightly, looking around as though to check that they were not being overheard. “I need to speak with you, St-Emperor.”

“Go on.” Stiles smirked as she stumbled over his name. _You all respect my power now!_ “What do you want?”

“Scott.”

“The traitor is dead, again.”

“I’m not talking about the second death, I mean the first one.” Lydia glared at him. “I might not know everything, but I suspect enough. I know he wasn’t the villain, that the governments of the world would never have agreed to subjugate themselves to you if this is what they thought you would do!” She gestured at the Archon’s Palace. “The blood of _billions_ of people is on your hands, Stiles!”

“Easy,” Stiles murmured as Connor stood up and walked slowly over to them. “Be careful what you say next, Lydia.”

“The truth might never come out, not with your chimeras so blind and subservient.” She took a breath, glancing down at Connor’s hands, seeing the serrated claws slide out, the Guardian Prime’s eyes flaring purple. “But for all of your chimeras and your indoctrination and your killing squads, you forget that you’re still vulnerable to me. With one breath and one scream, I can turn your Empire into ruin. I am not your chimera to command!”

“No, you are not.” Stiles examined her slowly for a moment before he turned and looked over to where Alexander was talking and laughing with Jackson. “But they are. And you love both Jackson and Alexander, don’t you? One with a burning passion, and the other with ardent respect. They are chimeras, and they are _mine_ to control; I can make them do anything, from the lewd to the violent!” He grinned, eyes flashing as Jackson suddenly stood up, claws springing out and Alexander scrambled backwards.

“Stop!”

“You dare threaten me, Lydia?” The Emperor glared at her. “You are but a speck of dust in the wind compared to my power. I could so easily kill them, and then you. Do you know what happened to Kira? She tried to stand against me as well, and after I killed her, the crowds of humans, the glorious Faithful _ripped_ her to pieces. I do not want to see the same happen to you.”

“Stiles-”

“You may not care about your own life,” The Guardian Prime growled, cutting across her. “But consider the lives of those men, they who have given everything for their Empire. Do not throw away their lives in search for a world that no longer exists.”

“My most loyal chimera speaks the truth, Lydia.” Stiles grinned at her, gesturing vaguely in the air. “Now, I could have you escorted from this wonderful party or simply kill you myself right now. But neither of us want that, so why don’t you just run along, and I’ll forget this ever happened, hmm?”

“Fine.” Lydia muttered, her eyes on the two Archons as they sat down, blinking confusingly. “We’ll be leaving tomorrow evening anyway, I hope I never see you again, Stiles.”

“Hmm.” The Emperor grunted and waved contemptuously for her to leave. He quickly turned to Connor, supporting the chimera by holding his elbow and guiding him back to his chair. “I had that under control, you must not exert yourself, Connor. I could feel your strength waning.”

“My duty is to protect You, master.”

“I know, I know.” Stiles looked up as Theo arrived, his face flushed. “Everything is under control.”

“Really? Then what was all that with Lydia?” Theo glanced between him and Connor, seeing the expression of pain lance across the Guardian Prime’s face, his jaw clenched tight. “I don’t think you should be out of bed, Connor.”

“You must be careful with Lydia, master.” Connor grunted, ignoring Theo’s concern. “While she knows many things, or thinks she does, Lydia still fought on our side during the battle with the Harvester.”

“Perhaps.” The Emperor shrugged. “She is one of the last of those who we once knew in Beacon Hills, and her capture provided us with many useful insights. Lydia’s mind is strong, her memories should be telling her that her instincts are misplaced, but I always knew that she would be the most difficult to reprogram.”

“Well, maybe Connor has a point,” Theo said, leaning against the table, his biceps going taut. “Is there some way we can reconcile her new rebellious streak with the woman that has helped the Empire in two wars?”

“It doesn’t matter.” Stiles shook his head. “Look at Parrish, or Liam, or even Jackson. They all came with us from Beacon Hills and they are all loyal, they have proven this to me over and over. But Lydia has not yet demonstrated the allegiance I demand!” 

“I understand, Emperor, but-” Connor made to argue, but was interrupted by a coughing fit, bloody spittle spraying across his clenched fist as he lowered it from his mouth. “Apologies…master.”

“No, it’s fine.” Stiles crouched in front of him, placing his hand against Connor’s chest as Theo jumped up, eager to help. “Horus, find Marric and bring him to the Guardian Prime’s chambers. Taweret, you and the other Ancient chimeras are to escort Connor back to his bed and ensure he gets in it.”

“Yes, Overmind, it will be done.” She bowed to him and gestured for Sobek and Anubis to support Connor, the Guardian Prime still coughing violently.

“I can take him.” Theo offered, scowling when Stiles shook his head. He waited until Connor was out of earshot and glared at his boyfriend. “Why didn’t you let me help?”

“Because Connor needs to rest, not…anything else.” Stiles replied firmly, rolling his eyes when Theo grunted and stalked off. He pursed his lips and scanned the rest of the plaza, gesturing for the nearest chimera to approach, the young man prostrating himself in front of him. “You, come here.”

“How can this humble chimera serve You, o God-Emperor, Master of Chimeras, the Unified-”

“Enough,” Stiles raised a hand, interrupting the flow of honorifics. “Go and find the Minister for Chimera Intelligence, he’s around here somewhere, try the north wing.”

“As You command, Emperor!”

 

Corey smirked slightly as he passed by an alcove on his way out of the plaza, having spotted Liam and Philip crammed into the tight, dark space, moving bodies and the glimpses of flesh betraying what they were doing. He kept going, weaving his way through the other party-goers, most were drunk by now, Stiles somehow able to manipulate their healing abilities to allow them to experience the loss of control and inhibitions that came with such a state while also increasing the regenerative powers of the injured chimeras. 

Corey hadn’t drunk much at all, preferring to maintain self-control and preserve his status with the other chimeras. He was proud that many of them looked up to him with the same respect they offered to Theo or any of the Generals. The chimera continued walking along a wide corridor that connected parts of the Archon’s Palace to the outdoor plaza, still having to dodge couples and random dancers, the party having spread out even more than he had thought. Corey paused when he caught Theo’s scent, the First Chimera standing alone on a darkened terrace nearby. _Oh, shit, I know that one._ He wet his lips and approached, keeping his voice light. “Hey, Theo.”

“Corey.” Theo grunted, not turning around or even glancing his way until the younger chimera was standing next to him. “Why aren’t you at the party? Where’s Garrett?”

“He’s gone back to our room, wants to, um, prepare.” Corey replied, flushing as the First Chimera arched a brow at him. “For-”

“I know what you meant, I just can’t believe you took him back.” Theo snapped, his hands on the railing that protected occupants of the terrace from the long drop down to the city. His claws began to scar the metal, claws digging in. “Of all the chimeras you could’ve chosen, why him?”

“Because I like him?” Corey shrugged, wilting under Theo’s intense gaze. “Besides, he’s sorry about everything that happened with the Ghost Riders and trying to usurp Stiles’ position. Connor forgave him, why can’t you?”

The railing cracked as Theo punched his claws through the metal, fury pouring off him like lava from a volcano. “Don’t talk to me about Connor.”

“Whatever.” The younger chimera backed off, going over to the nearby table to pour himself a glass of water. “Look, I know that you thrive when we’re at war, when we’re fighting other…things. You were really happy just a few days ago, I don’t get why you’re having this sudden mood crash, there’s still going to be people that need killing! You think you and Connor took out the only heretical movement in the Empire a few weeks ago?”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean that every day I get reports of that sort of thing.” Corey explained, returning to Theo’s side as the older chimera pulled his claws out of the ruined barrier. “Usually we just pass them on to one of the Faithful, but I could start diverting them to you? Or maybe you and Connor could-”

“Will you stop talking about him?!” Theo growled, eyes flashing red in the darkness. 

“Huh, so, this isn’t about the era of peace that Stiles just announced?” He paused, lips parted before he nodded. “It’s about Marric, isn’t it?”

“Yeah.” Theo admitted after a momentary silence. “I know they like each other, more than just friends or professional respect. They’d be good together too, same temperament, same values, both equally brilliant in their fields, both pretty damn hot.”

“Uh, ok.” Corey shook his head in confusion. “But why did you bring him here then? I’m not a fool, Theo, I know your feelings for Connor go way beyond some fucked-up blood fetish or kindred spirit bond over killing enemies of the Empire. I just don’t get why you’d then personally send an Archon to get Marric down here.”

“Does the Minister for Chimera Intelligence know all our secrets?” Theo laughed shortly at him. “It was meant to be a surprise.”

“I wouldn’t be very good at my job if I couldn’t find out something like that.” The younger chimera smirked. “Besides, Marric is considered a strategic asset of the Empire, whenever he goes somewhere, I’m notified. You still haven’t answered my question, Theo, why did you bring him here?”

“I thought it would make Connor happy.” Theo sighed, rubbing his face. “And it did, but it doesn’t matter that _I_ was the one who got Marric here, he still doesn’t trust me.”

“I warned you.”

“I know, but I never had to try like this with Stiles or Er-” He cut himself off, grimacing into the night air.

“Or?” Corey frowned, moving closer to Theo. “I didn’t think there was ever anyone else?”

“Not now, not for years. It was before Beacon Hills, before Stiles, before the Alpha Chimera.” Theo explained, avoiding Corey’s gaze. “His name was Eric, it was infiltration for the Doctors, uh, it doesn’t matter, the point is that Connor-”

“Give it time, Theo, don’t try and force it.” He patted Theo’s shoulder sympathetically as the older chimera’s scent slipped from anger into melancholy. Corey was about to speak again when another chimera entered behind them. “What do you want?”

“Apologies, First Chimera, Minister, the Emperor requires your presence.”

“Mine or his?”

“Err, just yours, Minister.” The chimera spoke nervously, not making eye contact. “He awaits you in the Archon’s Solar, near the main hall.”

“Very well, I’ll talk to you tomorrow, Theo.” Corey offered him a smile and nodded, turning away to follow the messenger. They walked through the corridors without speaking, the other revellers dancing and swaying as music filled the Palace, drunken shouts renting the air, and sounds of debauchery came from all around them. After a few minutes, the messenger peeled away, and Corey saw the familiar sight of the Guardians, four of them standing in front of an open door. _Ok, what does he want now?_ “Emperor? You sent for me?” 

“Come closer, Corey.” Stiles said, facing the ornately carved fireplace, marble and gold trimming spread across the unnecessary heat source. The Guardians moved aside, and the younger chimera entered the room, door shutting behind him. “We have a problem, a problem that you will fix.”

“Command me, Emperor.”

“Lydia.” Stiles turned to face him, his expression grim. “I do not trust her any longer, well, I barely trusted her before, but she threatened me in the plaza, only the counter-threat of Jackson and Alexander being killed stopped her. I cannot allow such defiance to remain in my Empire. Deal with it, Corey.”

“Any particular means?” Corey asked carefully, keeping his face and scent neutral. _It’s just part of the job…_ “Or preferred method?”

“No, use your discretion, I trust you.” Stiles nodded at him and made to leave. “Oh, and Corey-”

“This meeting never happened, I know the drill.” He finished as Stiles flashed him a smile. “It will be done, Emperor.” Corey waited for him to leave before leaning against the table and sighing. “Well, shit.” 

 

Corey looked up as he heard footsteps, eyes searching through the dense foliage of one of the hillside gardens, early morning sun pushing through the leaves to dapple shade and light on his skin. He nodded silently as Nolan emerged from the trees and gestured for him to follow to a more secluded part of the garden. “I’m glad you got here in time.”

“I have my ways,” Nolan shrugged, wiping sweat from his brow. “Not sure why you called me though, don’t you have other assets you can use?”

“I would have activated Ghost, but she slipped away after the fighting.” Corey explained, pacing back and forth in front of him. “I’m sure the Emperor knows where she is, regardless, I prefer your methods: less blood and more finesse.”

“Kind of you to say so.” Nolan paused, glancing around before he spoke again. “And thanks, Minister, humanity’s stock is on the downward slide, being a chimera has its advantages.”

“Good. The Emperor was more than willing to agree to my request once I explained how important you were during the War of the Ghost Riders.” Corey smiled at him. “Besides, it’s so much easier to be an assassin when you can produce your own venom!”

“I’ll agree to that. But what’s the assignment?”

“The Banshee, Lydia.” Corey wet his lips and stopped pacing. “The Emperor has decided that it is no longer worth the risk of her uncontrolled presence. We are to deal with it.”

“Are you thinking accident?” Nolan asked, folding his arms and frowning, lips parted in thought. “I could poison her, but-”

“No, nothing so obvious.” The other chimera shook his head. “Perhaps an unfortunate infection from her grievous wounds sustained in the battle with the Harvester?”

“Blood poisoning would work, Minister.”

“It could, but I think something grander might serve as a better method.” Corey grinned as the idea sprung to mind. “The Faithful are zealots in the extreme, and there are many in the city after the battle. Perhaps one of them overheard her inconsequential threats to the Emperor and decided that he would strike down this heretic and protect his master from such a danger?”

“Go on,” Nolan nodded, sitting on the stone bench nearby. “There’d certainly be more deniability than a sudden turn in her condition.”

“Archon Alexander and Lydia will be leaving by plane this evening, returning to his territory in Africa. I can separate them, get the Archon to remain behind for a few minutes, security briefing or something,” Corey continued, looking at Nolan. “That means Lydia will go to the airport in her own vehicle. You’ll blow it up: not all the Faithful are chimeras and there’s an armory on the lowest level of the Palace. Grab an RPG and I’ll send you the route. Take her out, there’ll be an investigation, if necessary we can use one of the actual Faithful, they’ll take the blame if the Emperor commands it.”

“I got it,” Nolan stood up, glancing at his watch. “I’ll be in position by five o’clock.”

“Excellent.” Corey watched him leave, blocking out the twinge of his conscience. “They might as well add 'Department of Assassinations' to the whole Ministry of Chimera Intelligence thing! But it doesn't matter I guess, Lydia brought it on herself.” 

 

The Guardian Prime frowned as he surveyed the battlefield, watching the vultures circle high above him, waiting for the chimeras to leave. It had been almost two days since the battle and still they were ferrying the dead from the warzone. Connor walked forwards, entering the Harvester’s ruined city, seeing fire Elemental chimeras under Nick’s command begin to burn down the collapsing citadel. The Guardian of the Ancient World was mirroring his progress, the massive chimera following him through the empty city. 

He turned away, retracing his steps along goo-hardened streets to where the dead Exarch had been. _Promised I’d come back for you._ Connor thought to himself, nodding a greeting at the sentries that had been stationed throughout the battlefield so the birds or other animals couldn’t mutilate the dead. They stood taller as he passed, each clutching a standard, the flag of the Empire drooping in the windless air. 

Connor sighed as he reached the area where the Exarch had fallen among the Faithful, seeing chimera crews in the distance. They were collecting the dead, making their slow way up the long street towards him. “And here I am.”

“Here you are indeed!”

“Brett?” Connor glanced over his shoulder, seeing the other chimera approach from a departing Osprey. “Why are you out here?”

“Probably the same reason you are.” Brett touched his pauldron briefly and gestured around them. “I lost a lot of my forces in the battle for the walls: chimeras and humans both. I’m here to make sure that their remains are collected, actually I was hoping that you might perform the ceremony to inter them into the Cathedral of Unity?”

“It would be an honor.” Connor nodded solemnly. “We must always remember the valor of our fallen soldiers and the sacrifice they have made for our great civilisation.”

“Thank you.” Brett replied, walking with him as they continued down the wide road. “But I have to say, Guardian Prime, I’m surprised to see you out of bed, you did not quite look your usual self at the party last night.”

“My wounds are almost healed. A few more days and I’ll be fine.” He said, briefly touching his breastplate and meeting Brett’s concerned gaze. The Guardian Prime raised his hand and waved at one of the chimeras in front of them, beckoning her over. “Any Exarchs you find on the field of battle are to be kept separate from the other dead. I’ll arrange transport for them back to the capital.”

“As you command, Guardian Prime.”

“They’ll be buried with the others?” Brett asked, raising his voice as an Osprey roared overhead. “Or are they going elsewhere?”

“Work has already begun on a new city near the capital, the center of the chimera religion is being based there.” Connor explained, standing still for a moment. “Fallen Exarchs will be entombed with other high-ranking personnel at the Cathedral of the Ascendant Emperor. The foundations had been laid before the battle started, we should be able to build a crypt rapidly enough. The Faithful will move mountains to honor their fallen heroes.”

“Thankfully, not many heroes had to fall.” He grinned at Connor when they arrived at the cleared ground left for the Ospreys to land and take-off. “And with the wars over, the threats neutralized, and the creation of the Purple Serum, death need never touch us again.”

“Never might be too soon.” Connor allowed himself a small smile. “After all that we have lost, I don’t think I can bear anymore. But let’s not get swallowed up in such thoughts, _Archon._ ”

Brett shared Connor’s grin and shrugged. “I had hoped that I’d get the title for my role in the resurrection of the traitor, but I understand that it was your advice to the Emperor that secured it.”

“That’s correct.” The Guardian Prime nodded, glancing up as an Osprey taxied towards them, slowing down, engines howling. “You’ll make a better Archon than Peter Hale; you have integrity, honor, courage, the qualities we need in our leaders. Your faith has been rewarded, Brett.”

“Glory to the Emperor!”

“May He rule forever.” Connor murmured the reply, moving forwards to step into the Osprey, raising his hand in farewell to Brett. As the chimera sat down, one of the pilots shouted for him to approach the cockpit. “What is it?”

“Message for you, Guardian Prime!” The pilot handed the message back to him. “Direct from the Archon’s Palace; it’s coded.”

“Thanks.” Connor frowned, skimming the hieroglyphs, recognizing the deliberate prose of Horus. _Ka’narack in danger should Alexander be removed. The Banshee in peril, the Overmind moves to strike._ “Fuck, get me back to the Palace at once!”

“As you command, Guardian Prime!”

 

Connor knocked on the door, nodding for the two accompanying Guardians to flank him, securing the entry point. He looked up when Alexander opened the door, surprise on the Archon’s face. The Guardian Prime entered without an invitation, walking into the spacious apartment they had been allocated in Jackson’s Palace. “I assume Lydia is here?”

“She’s finishing packing.” Alexander said, hurrying over to stand in front of the bedroom door. “I know what this is about, Guardian Prime.”

“Good, I don’t really have the time to play games.” Connor replied curtly. “Both your lives are in danger, but she is in substantially more, as is the fate of those who dare to question our glorious Emperor.”

“It was mistimed, I-”

“Mistimed implies that there is a time for uttering such threats.” He cut the Archon off and pushed him aside easily, stepping into the bedroom. Lydia looked up and went still, her lips parting. Connor held up a hand, stalling her. “Before you take a deep breath and do something you’ll truly regret, sit down and listen to me.”

“You want me to apologize, don’t you?” Lydia said, glaring at him. “Get down on my knees and beg Stiles for forgiveness? That’s not happening.”

Connor’s cold expression grew icier at the use of his master’s name instead of the title. “You are not helping yourself, Lydia, your life is in danger. And by extension, so is yours, Alexander. I will not allow the ancient city of the Overmind to become part of this squabble.”

“What do you mean?” Alexander sat next to Lydia, taking her hand in his. “You’re saying I could lose my position?”

“You could lose everything.” Connor nodded. “But there is still time to make this right, throw yourself on the Emperor’s mercy, allow me to petition Him on your behalf, and I am certain that He will allow you to return to your city in the sand.”

“I…”

“Why are you doing this?” Lydia asked, frowning at him. “Why do you care? Wouldn’t it be easier to kill me?”

“The easy way is not always the right way, and I am not the First Chimera, I still see the potential good that you can do for the humans in your region.” Connor replied, meeting her eyes. “As long as you stay there, do not partake of the Purple Serum and disappear quietly into oblivion when your frail mortality calls on you, then I see no reason you cannot both live long, fruitful lives.”

“Lydia, consider it, please.” Alexander turned to her, “We’ll be lucky if we get out of the Palace alive, you weren’t exactly subtle last night.”

“Debate it if you wish, but I must speak to the Emperor at once to head off whatever unpleasantness has been planned.” Connor made to leave, stopping when Alexander jumped up and grabbed his arm. “What?”

“You must want something in return.”

“I want nothing.” The Guardian Prime glared at him, “My only interest is in protecting my master from making a decision He will live to regret. And Ka’narack is secure while it remains under your oversight, Alexander, I cannot risk any damage to the city of the Overmind.”

“Of course, that makes sense.” The Archon chewed his lower lip and shrugged. “You know, we do not yet have a worshipping place for the Church of the Emperor in Ascendence in our region. Maybe Lydia and I should get working on that right away, huh? We can play our part in ensuring that the faith of the Chimera Empire spreads across the all world.”

“I think the Chimera Emperor would be pleased to know that you both now reside among the throngs of the Faithful.” Connor nodded. “Such a mark of devotion as to build Him a great temple of worship should secure your lives.”

“Thank you, Guardian Prime.”

“Connor?” Lydia caught up to him at the door, lowering her voice so Alexander wouldn’t hear them. “Jackson told me about the Green Serum, he said it was issued on the Guardian Prime’s authority; enough to save my life. Why did you do that?”

“You served the Empire well in the wars, and barring this incident, have not attempted to stoke rebellion against the Emperor.” He replied stiffly. “Your survival was merited by your actions, as well as the fact that your death scream could have killed dozens of innocent chimeras. I could not allow that to happen.”

“You truly live up to your title.”

“Yeah.” Connor turned around and left, gesturing for the other Guardians to follow him in search of the Emperor. “I know.”

 

“It’s almost time,” Stiles called out to Corey as Theo and Connor walked slowly across the tarmac towards Chimera Force One. The evening sun had set behind them in a blaze of orange and red fire, the air still hot from the intensity of the day. The Emperor smiled at Corey when the younger chimera hurried up the steps and passed him by. “Take-off in fifteen minutes. You and Nolan sort things out?”

“Yeah, strike was called off.” Corey shrugged. “He just follows orders, doesn’t care if it’s a go or no-go.” 

“Hmm, we’ll have to find a new use for him, or perhaps he can retire?” Stiles suggested as Corey walked away from him. “But then, there will always be some who oppose us…”

“What are you muttering about now, Stiles?” Theo asked, lingering in the aircraft’s doorway to kiss him gently. “We’re going home after all!”

“Uh huh, your mood has certainly improved!”

“Well, we do have a long plane ride and Connor will be unburdened by Marric, so, it’s all good.” Theo grinned at him and moved down the corridor after Corey. “Wait up! I don’t want you to take my seat!”

“Emperor, all preparations are complete.” Connor bowed before him, joining Stiles as they entered the aircraft and began walking towards their seats. “We are ready are to take off.”

“Marric got away alright?”

“Yes, master, he has left for the testing grounds in the Pacific to begin the deep ocean trials of our new space-faring chimera class.” Connor explained, seeing Theo and Corey look at him with interest as they arrived in the compartment. “The Leviathans.”

“You can tell us about it on the way back.” Theo said, settling in beside Connor, grinning at him. “In great detail!”

“Yes,” Stiles agreed, smiling widely as the plane’s engines roared and they began to taxi out to the runway. “And I will tell you what our final victory will look like: the glory of the Galactic Chimera Empire!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the lack of a chapter last week: May has been utter madness and I haven’t had as much time for writing as I would like. And this chapter took me a lot longer than usual, but it was important for everything to be contained within it. The final two chapters will have a slight time jump to account for character evolution and wrap up of personal plots.


	14. The Chimeras’ Peace

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is a little different in that it has no central plot to tie it all together but is more about providing snapshots into the minor characters' lives as they adjust to the end of war and the expansion of the Empire. There is an overarching narrative throughout that should illuminate the story-world however.
> 
> Please note that this chapter also contains sexual content in the form of unprotected anal intercourse (barebacking), as well as several implied relationships and general sexual language. Always use protection in the real world!

**Three years later**

Jason yawned and stretched his arms over his head, the restrictive sleeves of his shirt chafing against his arms. The ice Elemental chimera had become used to wearing only a vest or no top at all, allowing protective frost crystals to adorn his body. But today was a special occasion, one which warranted the wearing of a formal suit and jacket. “I look pretty good!” Jason grinned at his reflection in the TV, before sitting down and turning it on. “Might as well get the news…”

“Across the Empire today, Chimera Army forces are celebrating the anniversary of the end of hostilities in the War of the Harvester.” The news anchor spoke over scenes of marching troops and fluttering banners, grinning chimeras with purple eyes standing alongside the ever-present Faithful. “World Victory Day is in its third year and continues to go from strength to strength, with celebrations organised on the colony worlds of Mars, Venus, and Pluto reaching into the thousands.”

“Huh,” Jason nodded as the screen switched to chimeras in the mentioned worlds cheering and waving at the camera; some wearing environment suits as the purple skies behind them flashed with lightning, while others were bare-headed, the red soil of Mars forming the backdrop against which the atmosphere enhancing engines were seen driving to and fro. “Pretty damn cool.”

“In other news, the city of Chimera’s Nest located in the former European capital of Paris reports that fifty chimera children were successfully born in the past week, smashing previous records in Victory City and Bastion of Glory.” The anchor continued, smiling at the screen. “The Archon of the region welcomed the new arrivals and said that she has plans for further expanding the maternity wards in Chimera’s Nest to encourage even more children to be born for the continued glory of the Empire!” The footage cut to the Archon standing in the middle of a group of chimera parents, the glowing yellow eyes of the children visible to Jason as he grimaced.

“Yeah, no thanks, I’m happy with my Purple Serum,” He muttered and turned to look at the bathroom door as it opened. “Aren’t you ready yet?”

“Give me another ten minutes.” Nick shook his head, using the towel to pat dry his naked body. “And stop looking at me like that. The last time I used my fire to try and dry off quickly, I nearly burnt the house down!”

“Ok, ok, just hurry up, I wanna talk to Josh before the ceremony begins.” Jason waved absently at him, turning back to the TV so he wouldn’t be distracted and aroused by the sight of his naked boyfriend. He frowned as the report turned away from something to do with werewolves. “Hmm, maybe the Emperor has finally convinced him that a planet dedicated to a theme park isn’t such a good idea.” 

“It has been reported by Chimera Space Command that the latest Leviathan class chimera, _Pride of the Empire_ was formally launched from the orbital construction dock above the Moon today by the Guardian Prime-”

“Awesome!” Jason grinned excited, beckoning at Nick. “Hey, come look! There’s our ride!” The news anchor cut away to the massive bio-ship moving slowly forwards out of the construction yards and into clear space, the brilliant blue of Earth visible behind it. The chimera took almost thirty seconds to slip past the camera, rows of armored spines and hardened plates rushed by, the glow of its powerful anti-matter engine was a deep purple trail that leeched into the space behind it. “Can you believe we’re going to be travelling in _that_ tomorrow?!”

“Calm down,” Nick grinned and patted Jason’s shoulder with one hand, the other zipping up his pants. “It’ll take us ten days to reach the Alpha Centauri system, you’ll have plenty of time to be fascinated by the technology then.”

“Yeah, but, hang on.” Jason stood up and turned the TV off. He hurried over to his side of the bed and pulled out a thick pamphlet. “I got this from Chimera Space Command yesterday, it has loads of information about the Leviathans and the new star systems we’re going to and everything!”

“Uh huh, is this what have to look forward to all afternoon?” Nick smirked and ran a hand down his smooth, muscular chest. “Well, we better get going.”

“Wait, you’re just wearing that?” Jason stared at his boyfriend’s shirtless torso, brows raising a fraction when Nick’s wings unfurled behind him, brushing the ceiling. “Oh, I guess that does make wearing a shirt and tie difficult.”

 

They left the apartment by the beach exit, walking along the crowded piers towards the three massive statues that dominated the skyline of Victory City, the ziggurat of the Imperial Palace visible behind the trio. Nick raised his hand as they stepped onto the street and his wings flapped gently. Jason gave an exaggerated sigh but moved closer to him nevertheless. “It’ll get us there a lot faster.”

“I know, I know, cars are for humans…” Jason mumbled as he wrapped his arms around Nick’s back, the Legendary chimera picking him up and launching into the air suddenly, the surprised cries of passers-by making him grin. “Pretty sure you did that on purpose!”

“Maybe!” The Dragon laughed along with him, zooming across the cityscape and landing gracefully in the middle of the Path of Legends. “We can walk from here, don’t want to make too grand an entrance after all.”

“Great!” Jason kissed his cheek and nodded at the nearest statute, his expression souring. “Hmm, since when did Liam get honored with one of these?” 

“Around the same time you and your brother did.” Nick pointed ahead of them towards a marble plinth that held a gold and silver likeness of the twins stepping out of the merge, handsome faces forever grinning at some joke only they knew about. “The Emperor commissioned one for each of the Inner Pack; a way of honoring those that have fought for the glory of our Empire.”

“Hmm, I guess that makes sense.”

“Well, you don’t have to like the guy, Jason, but Liam has done more for the Empire than you’d expect from the Beta of the traitor. Besides, he’ll be on the opposite side of our territory for the next century and a half at least, you won’t run into him.” The Dragon shrugged and nudged his boyfriend to keep walking. “So, you were going to tell me all about the Leviathan class chimeras, weren’t you?”

“Oh yeah,” Jason nodded and opened the brochure, skipping a few pages of introductions and getting onto the information sheets. He held it up, showing Nick a cutaway image of the bio-ship. “See? They’re the biggest creatures that have ever lived, ten times, minimum, as large as the Guardian of the Ancient World!”

“And that chimera is pretty damn big.” Nick muttered to himself, shaking his head. “Go on.”

“The most common variant of the class is over three miles long and one and a half tall, with a width of two miles from fin to fin.” Jason smiled as he remembered the news report from earlier and then continued to read. “It took nearly a year for the first chimera to be built in orbit around Earth; launched late two years ago, but since then, the Guardian Prime, First Chimera, and Marric have been able to speed up the process and…wow! We’re launching a new Leviathan every three months now!”

“That’s impressive.”

“Wait until you hear this!” Jason squeaked excitedly, waving the booklet in Nick’s face. “The antimatter engines that power the Leviathan across space are capable of speeds of _at least_ seventy-six million miles per hour! Can you imagine that?!”

“Yeah, it must be a hell of a strain on the superstructure.” Nick replied as they passed the last of the empty plinths waiting for more champions of the Empire to fill them. The vast square at the gates of the Imperial Palace was just in front of them. He glanced at Jason, his boyfriend continuing to read in silence. “You know, I was speaking to Marric and Connor at the dedication of the Fallen Heroes monument in _Glória do Imperador_ last week and they were talking about the Leviathans as well. They mentioned that those speeds are the official numbers, but the ships keep exceeding them, managing to go faster and faster. Up to three times as fast is what Marric said, off the record, of course.”

“So? Isn’t that a good thing?”

“I guess, we’re able to cross the Home System in days when it should take months,” The Dragon frowned. “Think about it, Jason: travel time to the new colonies only takes a few weeks instead of thousands of years using conventional rockets. The Leviathans unnerve me.”

“Hey, you were the one telling me to relax.” Jason grinned at him and slipped his hand into Nick’s grasp. “Those three know what they’re doing, and the Guardian Prime would never allow anything dangerous to be used to carry chimeras through space. As for the speeds? Well, I mean, it says here that the Leviathans have their own particle accelerators to make the fuel and sustain the secondary systems indefinitely. So, maybe some of them go faster because they make better fuel?”

“Maybe.”

“All it has to do is get us there,” Jason tried to reassure him as they walked through the top of the Path of Legends into the bustling square. “The advance teams have already arrived and set up the atmosphere generators on Chimera-3, the first stage habitats are built and supplied, and I even heard from one of the engineers at the briefing a few days ago that there’s a great view of the mercury sea at sunset!”

“That does sound like something I want to see.” Nick smiled a little and looked up at the imposing statue of the Chimera Emperor, His hand thrust outwards, noble expression on His face, rising hundreds of feet into the air. He was flanked by the First Chimera on His right, a smug expression on Theo’s face, while the Minister for Chimera Intelligence stood on the other side, his expression unreadable, the mysterious aura appropriate for Corey’s position. The Dragon pushed through the crowds, Jason right behind him, and they came to a stop in the middle of the plaza, the centers of Imperial power all around them.

The tall, imposing ziggurat of Imperial High Command stood closest to the Palace, its shape mirroring that of the most recognized building in the Empire. Its black walls were decorated in splashes of gold and silver stars, each a reminder of a chimera that had given their lives during the wars of planetary conquest. Jason turned slightly, looking at the gleaming white building next to the Army Headquarters, Chimera Space Command was a modern structure of ceramic and steel, glistening in the strong afternoon sun. 

The fluted pillars and colonnades that dominated the front of the building led into a smaller oblong plaza with a sculpture of a Leviathan wrapped around the stylized galaxy. He had stared at that monument for hours, eagerly awaiting the day when they could all go into space, plough the depths of the cosmos inside the greatest creation ever realized. Jason longed to see new worlds, to make new memories away from the blood-soaked battlefields of Earth.

“Come on, we should have enough time to see Josh before the ceremony.” Nick touched his arm and they turned around, walking towards the Cathedral of Unity. “You’ll have to tell him all about the Leviathans, I doubt he had much time to watch the news while he was training for the new job.”

“I don’t know, maybe he knows more than us?” 

 

Josh glared at himself in the mirror, reaching up to try and pull the ritual armor back into place. “C’mon, c’mon! Why won’t you stay in-”

“I got you, bro!”

“Huh?” The chimera turned around, seeing Jason standing behind him and Nick leaning against the door jam. “Hey guys! I thought you weren’t coming until the actual ceremony began?”

“We had some spare time, plus I know the guy at the door, he let us sneak back here to say hi.” Nick explained with a grin as Jason moved forward to help his brother adjust the armor. “We won’t stay long, I know you need to concentrate on the rites and prayers before going in front of Connor.”

“You’re meant to call him by his title, you know.” Josh chided him gently, accepting the leather bracers from Jason and putting them on. “At least, you should consider doing so around here. The Exarchs get angsty if you’re seen to be disrespecting the Prophet of the Emperor.”

“I’m sure,” Nick’s lips twitched. “Well, I’ll let you two catch up for a bit and I’ll grab us a good seat.”

“Thanks, Nick.” Josh smiled at him and turned to his brother once the Dragon had left. “So, you all packed?”

“Pretty much,” Jason nodded, leaning against the nearby table. “We’ve decided to leave most of our stuff here in case we want to come back and visit. Plus, property in Victory City is selling really high right now, I don’t want to find it impossible to buy anything in like two hundred years when we return from setting up the new colony.”

“I hope it doesn’t take that long.” Josh muttered, fixing the light armor across his shoulders one last time. He ran a hand down his bare chest and nodded at his reflection in the mirror. “I think I’m ready.”

“You _are_ ready.” Jason hugged him from behind, kissing his cheek affectionately. “And you’re going to be an amazing Exarch, taking the chimera religion across the stars so that we never forget how close we are to the Emperor.”

“Thanks, Jason.” He grinned and leaned back into his brother. There was a low chiming sound from outside and Josh sobered up, taking a deep breath. “That’s the signal, it’s time.”

“We’ll be watching for you.” Jason whispered excitedly into his ear before releasing him and walking away.

“Got it.” Josh nodded determinedly and exited through the other door, joining the dozens of other Faithful as they walked in single file through the maze of corridors that made up the Cathedral of Unity. He breathed deeply, struggling to remain calm as nervousness flooded his scent. The other chimeras around him smiled reassuringly and reached out to touch his arm. “I know, I know, I’ll be fine.”

They entered the large worshipping space that ran from one end of the building to the other, forming neat rows in front of the lectern, the filled pews going silent behind them. The solid gold statue of the Emperor rose up almost to the ceiling, his purple eyes blazing like twin suns. Despite merely being a representation of the Alpha Chimera, Josh felt himself relaxing more, taking solace in the Emperor’s benevolent smile. He glanced to one side, grinning at Jason and Nick as they sat nearby, nodding encouragingly at him.

There was a rustle as the congregation stood up; the Guardian Prime sweeping onto the raised dais at the front of the cathedral, a phalanx of Exarchs surrounding him as the Ancient chimeras followed slowly from the rear. Josh stood up a little straighter, swallowing hard as Connor stepped up to the lectern and gestured for the guests to be seated. He watched the handsome chimera dismiss the Exarchs to their places around him, the Ancient chimeras standing in a semi-circle in front of the Emperor’s statue as they always did. Connor looked slowly around the room and then began to speak.

“Fellow chimeras, Faithful of the Empire, I welcome you all to the Cathedral of Unity.” Connor smiled at them. “In the years since our final victory over the Harvester, we have seen hundreds of chimeras raised to Exarchs in order to go forth and spread the word of our master’s divinity to those who still dare to deny it. Some have done this through patient debate and discussion and illustration of the Chimera Emperor’s infinite power. While others have faced countless heretics and heedless blasphemers who cannot be turned towards the Emperor’s holy light. To these iconoclasts, we promise a swift and bloody death at the claws of the nearest loyal chimera!”

Josh nodded along with the others as cheers and woops erupted from the Faithful behind them. Connor seemed to be looking directly at him as the Guardian Prime continued his speech in the same rousing tone that gave Josh chills every time the revered chimera spoke.

“But today is different, because today we are not sending these new Exarchs to Chimera’s Nest or even to Moonbase Alpha. No, these Exarchs are charged with spreading our glory to all corners of the Empire!” The Guardian Prime stretched his arms wide. “They will join the Leviathans in carving a path through space, walking alongside our colonists so that none may ever forget where we come from and the god that has granted us the privilege to exist in His divine Chimera Empire!”

 

Jason hugged Josh tightly after the ceremony was completed, the bombastic chorus of the Imperial Anthem echoing around them. “Awesome, bro! You’re an Exarch now! How does it feel?”

“Uh, the same?” Josh shrugged but returned his brother’s grin. “So, I already know my assignment and all that, do you want to get out of here and celebrate?”

“I’ve booked a restaurant for dinner.” Nick said, stepping between them and resting his hands on both of the twins’ shoulders as he guided them out of the Cathedral of Unity. “Our shuttle doesn’t leave until three tomorrow afternoon, and we’ll be docking with _Pride of the Empire_ two hours later. So, I was thinking that after we eat, we can take a walk through the city one last time.”

“Sounds good.” Jason smirked at them. “But that will only take us to _this_ evening and then we’ll have all night to just…”

“Relax?” Josh laughed and shook his head. “I haven’t seen you guys in like three months, I’ve missed being in the merge, bro, plus, I bet Nick has missed what our unified power is capable of, huh?”

“You could say that.” Nick grinned, hand reaching lower across Josh’s bare chest to touch his defined stomach, making the younger chimera shiver in delight. “Might as well have one more night of pleasure on this world before we take off for the mysterious outer systems!”

“That’s all I needed to hear.” Jason gestured for them to follow him down a side alley. “How about we hit the beach before dinner? I know this great little cove that almost no one goes to, it’s under the main wall of the Imperial Palace!”

The three of them sprinted down the narrow walkway, emerging onto the beach with cries of delight at the empty sands in front of them. Clear, azure waves rolled up the golden sands and the twins began stripping off, racing Nick to join them in the surf with laughter and splashes.

 

Liam looked around the sparse apartment, silently running through the checklist in his head. He walked over to the piled suitcases, color-coded by content and patted the red ones carefully. “I think we have everything but your clothes, Philip.”

“Yeah, give me another few minutes.” The Legendary chimera called out from the bedroom. “I have more stuff than you!”

“Don’t I know it?” Liam muttered, making his way through the empty living room to the bedroom. “How many tight-fitting graphic t-shirts does one chimera need anyway?!”

“As many as possible, obviously.” Philip smirked at him and held one aloft for Liam to see. “C’mon, dude, this one has me goring a Nogitsune! How cool is that?”

“Yeah, yeah, you’re a bigshot hero.” 

“Well, so are you; the only ‘converted’ werewolf to be given a statue on the Path of Legends.” The Manticore folded the shirt and placed it into the suitcase at his feet. “That’s a pretty big deal, big enough to stop the First Chimera from creating _Werewolf World_ in Canada anyway.”

“Doesn’t mean he won’t do it in the future.” Liam shrugged. “Find Theo a nice forest moon and that’ll be the first thing he suggests.”

“It’s a cool idea, though, you have to admit that, right?”

“It has potential,” He nodded slowly, “but it just depends on what Theo is trying to get out of it. I hear he and Connor still regularly stomp out enclaves of heretics together, but anything with him in charge isn’t going to be some idyllic haven for werewolf repopulation.”

“Well, good job we’ll be far enough away from him then.” Philip said, catching Liam’s eye. “The First Chimera might visit the colonies, but as far as our surveyors know, there are no forest moons in the TRAPPIST-1 system.”

“How far away is it?”

“Oh, about thirty-six light-years from Earth,” The chimera replied casually as Liam arched a brow at him. “In theory it should take us about ninety days to reach the system, but I’ve heard from my contacts in Chimera Space Command that the latest inter-system Leviathans are powered by the newest antimatter engines, so it’ll only take us thirty days to reach the system!”

“Thirty, huh?” Liam said glumly. “You know, we’re going to be travelling for the next two months, probably in close quarters with the other colonists.”

“So?”

“So,” He watched Philip empty his underwear drawer, throwing several tight-fitting pairs of swimming trunks into the suitcase. “We won’t be able to have much time to ourselves. And I’m not sure there’s a pool on board…”

“We’ll be fine,” The Manticore glanced at him. “Once we get to Moonbase Alpha tomorrow, we’ll have five days to rest and explore and meet up with Mason and his boyfriend. After that, it’s a short jump across to TRAPPIST-1, just a few weeks in space and we’ll be planet-side on The Emperor’s Beacon with the pristine, white sand beaches of Aqua Habitat Three stretching out in front of us!”

“Even then, it’ll be a while until we’re set up in our own house and are _alone._ ” Liam replied, glaring at Philip as he said the last word. The other chimera grinned suddenly. 

“Ah, I think I understand what you’re saying now, Liam!” 

“Four weeks is way too long, Philip, I mean, I’m sure we could grab a few minutes on the way to The Emperor’s Beacon, but I’d feel weird having sex while inside the Leviathan.”

“It doesn’t know that you’re there, Liam.” Philip smirked at him. “I was talking to Connor yesterday about how they’re made, and he said that they’re less chimeras and more giant space tanks: lots of armor, lots of power, and no awareness of what happens inside them. But, to make you feel better, I guess it was a good thing that we left the bed linen on, huh?”

“Yeah, that makes sense now.” Liam sniggered and gestured to the bathroom. “Do you need to…”

“Give me five minutes.” Philip unbuttoned his shirt as Liam stripped opposite him. “Unlike you, I actually followed the instructions Marric sent us.”

“I really don’t think I need to, err, ‘deep-clean’ like that, I’m sure I’ll be fine!”

“Uh huh, tell that to your pants when the Leviathan is accelerating out of our system at seventy-six million miles per hour.” Philip smirked at him and slipped out of his trunks. He walked into the bathroom and Liam rolled his eyes at the closed door.

“Yeah, well, that’s why you bring extra!” He shrugged and pulled off the rest of his clothes, diving onto the bed they had shared together for the past few years. Liam lay on his side, already hard as he waited for Philip to come out, his eyes darting between the door and the bedside table before impatience won out and he crawled over the duvet to pull out the bottle of lube and condoms. Philip didn’t mind if Liam fucked him without the protective sleeves, but Liam didn’t like the mess and preferred to snuggle with the other chimera immediately afterwards instead of having to get up and clean the cum off their bodies. “Are you ready yet?!”

“Almost, yeah.”

“Good, I’m dying here!”

“Is that a not so subtle way of saying this is going to be hard and fast and so loud that the neighbours will complain again?” Philip asked, poking his head and shoulders around the door. He grinned when he saw Liam lying in the center of the bed, idly playing with himself. “I mean, I can live with that; we aren’t likely to be back for centuries, so…”

“That seems like a legit reason to be extra loud.” Liam tried not to laugh, the merriment disappearing once Philip stepped out fully, his cock standing upright, not quite touching his stomach. “Uh, forget them and come on over.”

 

“Ah! Fuck, dude!” Liam panted as Philip rested back on his haunches, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. “Damn, I wouldn’t mind getting a blow job like that in space!”

“Uh huh,” The Manticore grinned and moved around to lie on his back, reaching for the lube as he did so. “Well, since you’re nice and close to the edge, you think you can bring me as much satisfaction?”

“Hmm, yeah, of course.”

“What is it?”

“Oh, it’s just that I’m feeling really horny right now.” Liam replied, fingering the tip of his cock and staring at Philip laid out in front of him. “You know, I think I can cum twice in quick succession, really drain the tanks!”

“Yeah?” Philip grinned as an idea came to him. “So, um, do you want to go bareback then? I mean if you dump a load in my ass the first time and then keep fucking me, you can have sloppy seconds of your own!”

“Fuck, dude, that does sound hot!” Liam groaned and released his dick, positioning himself between Philip’s bent knees. Apart from the bareback aspect of their sex, this was familiar to Liam now; lining his cock up to Philip’s lubed entrance and pushing inside the tight, clenching hole, pleasure igniting along the shaft and burying itself in Liam’s core. “Ugh!”

“Yes, fuck, that’s hot!” Philip groaned, rolling his head back, but maintaining eye contact with Liam, knowing that the other chimera wanted to see him. “Oh, yes, Liam, keep going deeper!”

“You got it!” Liam grinned at him, gazing at Philip’s expressive face and locking eyes with him, regardless of what color they were; the yellow of his true chimera nature, or the purple of Stiles’ power flowing directly through them. Secretly, Liam enjoyed the latter more than when they were left unconnected to the Alpha Chimera. When both their eyes blazed purple it was as though every sense was magnified, every pleasurable action equal to a thousand of its lesser, separated self. 

Liam pulled all the way out, flared head widening the younger chimera’s entrance, before he pushed back in, plunging deep into the pleasing tightness. Philip’s legs were crossed behind Liam’s back and locked into place over the swell of his butt cheeks, keeping their bodies pressed together as they began to fuck in earnest. “Uhhh, yeah, just like that! Clench hard, Philip!”

“How’s this?” 

“Perfect!” Liam gasped, head bowed as he moved with slow, steady pushes and withdrawals at first, then gradually sped up, until Philip’s legs fell away and simply lay spread out on the bed, Liam released to really start pounding him. He pushed one leg back onto Philip's chest and held it there as his cock pummelled the chimera's prostate. “Uhh, yeah, so fucking tight!”

“Mmh! Mmh! Aw, Liam, yeah!” Philip was panting and moaning his name, hands stretched out behind him to grasp the wooden bars of their headboard, gripping tight as he allowed his hole to sink lower around Liam's thick dick. His own cock was rock hard, but Philip didn't want to touch it until he saw the tell-tale signs of Liam's orgasm washing over him and they could cum together. “Aww! Aww! Yes, oh my god!”

Liam changed his position a few times, using the springy nature of the mattress to bounce energetically in and out of Philip's hole. His left hand supported his thrusts as he leaned back and flicked his entire torso back and forth, ab muscles rolling, cock plunging deeper into the other guy's ass. "You close?"

"Yeah, but don't stop." Philip gasped, dropping a hand from the headboard to reach down and grip Liam's thigh, urging him to go faster. "I'll start jerking when you're exploding in me the first time!"

"Fuck! You want me to do that _now?!_ " Liam gasped. He leaned forward, pushing as much of his long cock into the tight hole as he could without losing balance. His left hand moved towards Philip's other leg and pushed that one back against his chest too, allowing Liam greater access and a better view; seeing his cock hammer in and out of the lubed-up ass. "Ah! Fuck yeah!"

Sweat drenched them, the aircon having been turned off as they prepared to leave the capital. But Liam didn't care, he loved the way Philip's smooth, lean body glistened in the light, his looks frozen at perfect seventeen by the Purple Serum. He felt himself cumming, a tightening in his balls and the confident smirk from Philip as he started jerking off in time to Liam's frantic strokes.

"Ahh, fuck! Yeah, Philip! Mmh!” Liam groaned, eyes roving over his boyfriend's stomach and chest, lingering on his flexing bicep as he jerked off, before the gaze swooped north, locking onto Philip's burning purple eyes. The connection made, Liam began to unload in his ass, the sensation of his cum splurging out from cock overloaded his brain with pleasure, making him feel light-headed. He could feel torrents of his cum splash against the walls of Philip's tight hole, the chimera clenching hard to hold Liam in place. It only made the last few needy thrusts all the more enjoyable; pulling back through the resistance and then slamming into his cum-filled tunnel harder than before. "Ugh!"

“Haha, so hot!” Philip slowed his masturbation, grinning up at Liam's blissed-out expression. He waited until his boyfriend blinked and looked down at him. "You're still hard, you gonna give me a second load?"

"Well, it's only fair, you haven't even got off yet!" Liam nodded at his cock drooling clear liquid onto his abs. "You do have a nice puddle of precum there, but nothing else."

"You better start moving again then!" Philip grinned at him and rocked his hips back and forth, feeling Liam's cock slide in and out with ease as some of his boyfriend's cum leaked out from his hole. "Oh, fuck, I feel so used right now!"

"Yeah?" Liam grinned, increasing his speed once again as Philip resumed jerking off. "Well you should! Cos I've filled your hole with my cum, dude, and I'm gonna use your fucked-out ass until I'm good and ready to spray another load into you!"

"Uh! Fuck, Liam! That's so hot!"

"Uh huh, well maybe dumping it into you is too good, maybe it's a waste of cum!" Liam growled, getting into the dirty talk more as Philip's scent shifted into extreme arousal, his orgasm nearing as the chimera chased it desperately with his hand. "Maybe I'll spray it all over your face instead and let it drip onto your chest and abs and mingle with your cum until every inch of your smooth, sexy body is slick with our cream!"

"Uh! Uh! Uh! Liam, I'm gonna-" Philip gasped, hand a blur, his head rolled back, sweat glistening on his collar bone and neck. "I'm cumming! Fucking pound me, Liam, just, just, ahhh!"

“Yeah! That’s what I’m looking for!” Liam grinned as he watched Philip explode; streams of thick, white cum shooting up and across his clenching abs and defined pecs. He didn't slow down his continued assault of Philip's cum-filled hole, not even as the other chimera moaned and mumbled incoherently, pearly trails of cum gleaming on his skin as his cock gave up the last streams, trailing down his stomach and naval. Liam managed to get closer to him, positioning himself forward to grasp Philip's shoulders and crush his lips against his boyfriend's panting mouth for a moment or two of deeper connection. He felt the second orgasm closing in and pulled back, his own chest slick with transferred cum. "I'm almost there, so fucking close!"

"You better cum on me like you promised, Liam!" Philip groaned, continuing to fondle his cock, working it back into hardness again. 

"Planning on it!" Liam smirked, pulling out suddenly and shuffled around to Philip's other side so he could jerk off over his boyfriend's body. His cock was slick with frothy cum and Liam enjoyed the feeling of pleasuring himself using his own cum as lube. He pointed the tip of his thick cock towards Philip's face and rolled his head back, waves of euphoria crashing through his body. "Ah! Ah! Ah! Philip, I'm close, dude!"

"And I'm gonna cum right with you!"

"Ugh!" Liam moaned loudly when he saw his boyfriend facing his cock, eyes open and lips parted, tongue ready to accept the cream. Philip's hand was a blur, moving up and down his cock as quickly as before. "Mmh! So close, I'm gonna paint your face and spray my cum all over your body, Philip!"

"Do it! Fucking do it, Liam!" The Manticore ordered, grinning suddenly when Liam howled, the sound he always made when he was about to cum hard-the sound all the neighbours complained about. "Yes! That's-"

"Shut up before you drown in my cum!" Liam moaned, giving his long dick a final stroke and watching as several spurts of cum splattered against Philip's cheeks and nose. The next volley landed on his lips and stuck-out tongue, while the remainder of Liam's load dripped from his cock onto the younger chimera's smooth skin, joined seconds later by Philip's second cumshot. "Fuck yeah!" Liam grinned and moaned as Philip leaned forward and cleaned off the head of his cock, slurping noisily and looking at him as he did so. He touched Philip’s face tenderly, dropping down from his orgasmic high. "I love you."

"I know." Philip said after he pulled off and Liam lay down next to him. The Manticore rolled on top of him and pressed his softening cock against Liam's, gazing into his eyes. "I love you too."

 

Commander Parrish stepped out into the brightness of the late afternoon sun, blinking as his eyes adjusted after the cool shadows of the Cathedral of Unity. The Hellhound pressed his hand against the edge of the monument to the fallen who were killed in Scott’s ill-fated attack on the capital, the tall obelisk standing proudly near the entrance, a list of names carved into the smooth panels on every side. Parrish paused, looking up at the nameless faces carved into the stone, remembering Aaron’s final moments before nuclear fire consumed him. “Ah…” 

“Sir?”

“Hmm? Ah, what is it, officer?” Parrish turned to see the Unified City Guardsman bow shortly in front of him. 

“These need your signature.”

“Thanks.” He took the tablet and skimmed the details, walking out into the plaza proper. “This is authorisation for release of resources to Moonbase Beta, right?”

“Yes, sir, they want additional security around the construction yards,” The man explained, standing still when Parrish stopped moving. “There have been incidents of over-eager human civilians breaking into the facility and being sucked into space or getting crushed by the plate manufacturing machines in the foundry section near the exit of the space dock proper.” 

“Hmm, can’t have that.” Parrish frowned and used his finger to sign the wavier. He handed the tablet back and returned the Guardsman’s salute. “Very good, carry on.”

“Yes sir!”

The Hellhound shook his head, turning away from the Imperial Palace gates and taking the side-streets towards the UCG Command Center, a sprawling complex of offices, jail cells, training yards, and accommodation blocks that stretched across much of the outskirts of Victory City. Or at least, it had been on the edges when it was being constructed. Now, there were a dozen bustling districts around the fortress’ high walls. He nodded at familiar faces in the market, a slow peace spreading through his chest after his time spent in the Cathedral of Unity. 

Parrish didn’t believe that Stiles was some sort of chimera god, but that hardly seemed to matter; the Faithful accepted all who came to their church as long as they _appeared_ to follow their beliefs. They weren’t even particularly religious, at least not in the way that Parrish understood the word. It seemed to be an institution designed to create a very distinctive and narrow interpretation of chimera history, spreading its cultural influence across the Empire, unifying all in the celebration not just of Stiles, but of chimerahood itself.

And yet Connor had a way of speaking that Parrish found strangely comforting. Perhaps it was the supreme confidence in the delivery of his speeches, or the way the Guardian Prime held himself: assured, noble, righteous. It might have helped that they had started working more closely together on matters of internal security, keeping the city and the Emperor safe from threats. Not that there were many threats to face in Victory City anymore; most of Parrish’s job was dealing with the city’s two million human occupants and the various petty crimes that came from their interaction with one another. 

But his increased one-on-one time with Connor had convinced Parrish that even if Stiles was power-mad and Theo was a monster, the Empire would be continually led forward by the determined and ethical hand of the Guardian Prime. It was his duty as Commander of the Unified City Guard to support the chimera and Connor’s benevolent attitude made that much easier. Parrish turned right suddenly, opting to walk along the boulevard by the beach, savoring the salty air and coolness that it brought to his bare skin. 

There wasn’t a uniform exactly for the UCG, but then the chimera members were always recognizable: abilities on display or yellow eyes burning in the gloom of the night shift. For Parrish, he retained the same regalia he wore when Strauss was alive; combat trousers and boots, neatly tied up, while his torso was bare, Cerberus’ inhibitors were less necessary now that he had chimera DNA coursing through his veins, but Parrish kept them on. They were a handsome decoration that framed his bulging biceps and made Darius, the young Chimera Army officer he was hooking up with, extra aroused. Their moments together were light and fun and carefree, Parrish couldn’t bear to have anything so serious as another relationship, still feeling Strauss’ loss every single day. He looked up as dusk approached, the stars beginning to emerge out on the far horizon. 

One was gleaming brighter than the rest and caught his eye. “Must be the _Seat of the Emperor_ , because giant Leviathans weren’t enough to demonstrate how powerful you are.” Parrish muttered quietly. He averted his eyes from the space station under construction in Earth’s orbit and turned back onto the busy streets. They had offered him a position on one of the colony worlds, but Parrish refused, content to remain on Earth and help the citizens of Victory City. 

He sat on countless boards and associations, everything from sanitation relief works to lobbying for more space for lacrosse fields so the orphans of the wars had somewhere to relax and exercise. Parrish knew he was making a difference in the Empire, changing people’s lives one at a time, and if that meant bowing to a distant tyrant whose dream was to conquer the stars, he could live with it. With the Purple Serum granting him everlasting life, the Hellhound was moving to a longer term view of the universe, seeing the grand scheme of things as Connor and Stiles mapped out where they wanted the Empire to go.

Parrish nodded at the Guardsmen at the entrance to the Command Center, passing through the automatic doors, a wave of cool air washing over him from the air conditioning overhead. He blinked, not having noticed the heat from outside until the sweat on his skin dried and the Hellhound shivered slightly. The idle thoughts that had accompanied him on his walk through the city vanished when several of the junior officers approached him, each holding a tablet with orders or authorization waivers for him to sign off on. Parrish smiled at the nearest one and gestured for them to join him in the elevator up to his office. “Anything interesting this evening?”

“A brawl broke out in Zone Three,” One of the officers handed him the tablet. “Drunken patrons at the bars in the area started fighting over who was the greatest Imperial hero.”

“Ugh.”

“I mean everyone knows it’s the Guardian Prime!”

“Hey, the First Chimera is pretty-”

“Enough.” Parrish glared at the two young chimeras. “I’m not letting this argument infect the station again. Sort it out on your own time, but without public brawling please. Now, what else do you have for me?”

“We finally managed to capture Eccles, found him hiding in the storm drains under the city with help from one of the Guardians.”

“Good, about time that murderer was brought in.” Parrish nodded to himself and glanced at the final officer. “And yours?”

“Invitation from the Guardian Prime to dine with him on Thursday night at the Imperial Palace.” She offered the tablet to him, hand trembling, voice touched with awe. “He came himself…”

“Of course, he did.” Parrish smiled at her expression. “The truly powerful don’t need to flaunt it. Did he say what he wanted to talk about?”

“Um, yes, it was, uh, about the construction of the new Industry Quarter outside the city limits. He wants to get your input on residential areas, security enforcement, cultural distribution, everything, basically.”

“Ok, I’ll be there,” Parrish nodded. “I’ll be interested in what his plans are for the region too. With the Emperor concentrating on galactic expansion, I think the Guardian Prime will have a more active role in the future of this particular city. Anyway, the rest of you should prepare for the nightly briefing in thirty minutes, I’ll be in my office.” 

The Hellhound stepped out of the elevator into the quiet sanctuary of his penthouse suite; office and apartment combined into one. He walked across the panelled wooden floors towards the glass wall at the other end of the atrium and looked out over the lights of Victory City. The Imperial Palace was a blaze of white and gold in the distance and Parrish chewed his lower lip, curious as to what Connor wanted from him.

 

Sheriff Stilinski frowned at the newspaper sitting on his desk. The headline was what bugged him, not so much the picture of his rescue of the little girl who got stuck in the tree after she had climbed up it to find her cat. “Hero Sheriff Saves Girl!” He tapped the wooden surface irritably and looked through the open door. “Henderson!”

“Yes, Sheriff?” The fresh-faced Deputy appeared in the doorway almost immediately. “What do you need?”

“Is this all that happened in town last week?”

“You rescued that girl, Sheriff, you’re a hero!” The Deputy grinned, the smile almost too wide. “But yup! It’s all quiet in Sunnyvale!”

“Uh huh.” The Sheriff lowered the paper and shook his head slowly. The remote town was surrounded by alpine mountains, snow-capped peaks protecting them from the outside world; the only way out of Sunnyvale was through a long tunnel guarded by chimeras. It was an odd place, almost like a perfect recreation of Beacon Hills just without the vast forest; the high school was the same, the street he lived on was the same as where he and Claudia had bought their house nearly twenty-five years previously, even the Sheriff’s Station was a match to the one in Beacon Hills, though the office was slightly darker, facing north instead of east. And yet, for all that the buildings were alike, and the people were friendly, bad things still happened in Sunnyvale, though never on the level of the chaos in the original Beacon Hills. The name of the town was another thing; Stiles always referred to it as “The Retreat” though anyone the Sheriff said it to here just gave him a blank stare and slightly bemused grin.

He had become even more suspicious that he was in some sort of benevolent prison after a number of events were triggered by local townsfolk; a bear attacking a picnic and getting its head stuck in a basket, a rash of robberies where the only thing stolen was candy, a group of youths throwing water balloons at a teacher’s car. It just felt…odd. But he had been appointed the Sheriff of the settlement by the loyalist humans and the few veteran chimeras who lived in the town. It was a job he knew how to do, and, over-zealous news reports notwithstanding, the Sheriff was determined to do what he could to make everything seem normal. At least no one had died yet…

“Is there anything else you need, Sheriff?”

“No, Henderson, that’s fine.” He paused, catching the young man’s eye. “Actually, do you know when my son is next scheduled to visit?”

“Son?” The Deputy frowned in confusion. “I didn’t know you had a son, sir.”

“Ah, uh, when will the Emperor next visit us?” The Sheriff amended, hiding his smirk as a change came over the Deputy. “Well?”

“Should the glorious Chimera Emperor choose to grace us with His divine presence, we would all be honored, Sheriff!”

“Of course you would.” He dismissed the man and sighed, settling back into the comfortable leather chair. That was the biggest change he had had to get used to, they might be separated from the Empire and stuck in their own peaceful little bubble. But even in Sunnyvale they all knew who the Chimera Emperor was and who they owed their allegiance to. The banners and posters with the Imperial symbol were everywhere, purple and black decorating the buildings with murals of his son’s victories as statues to the Empire’s heroes were put up overnight. The Sheriff tended not to dwell on it too much, even on the rare occasions he met Stiles now, he didn’t see his son in there any longer, only the cold, blood-soaked stare of the Chimera Emperor gazing back at him. “Hmm…”

“Problems, Sheriff?” Henderson was back, a stack of files under one arm as he passed by. 

“No, just thinking about the past.” He stood up and grabbed his coffee mug, walking towards the machine. “Which is not a place you want to get buried in, believe me, son.”

“How about the future then? Some of the other Deputies are going down to Frank’s after work, do you want to join us?”

“I’m not sure drinking with the men is appropriate.”

“This isn’t the European Conquest, err-” Henderson cut himself off as soon as the words had left his mouth, as though he wasn’t meant to have admitted that. He lowered his eyes when the Sheriff glanced at him with a quirked brow. 

“You fought in the…planetary war?” 

“For a time.” Henderson acknowledged quietly. “I was shot, almost lost my leg, but they converted me and I…I’m here now.”

“I didn’t know you were a chimera.” The Sheriff frowned and looked the young man up and down. “What type?”

“Standard werebear configuration, but I don’t use the abilities much.” The Deputy sat down on the edge of the desk. “There’s no real reason to do so here, and standing orders are…”

“What? To keep things calm for the Emperor’s old man?”

“That’s the gist of it.” Henderson didn’t meet his eyes, his entire tone and posture changing from the eager young Deputy he was minutes before. “But no one is allowed to say that, it’s why no one ever leaves. We’re not getting the Purple Serum and this place will fold up after you, respectfully, sir, die.”

“Huh, I thought things were strange, but I never imagined The Retreat was designed specifically for me.” The Sheriff filled his cup and took a sip. “So, what else do you know?”

“Not as much as you think, just that things happen here to keep us occupied, but it’ll never be anything fatal. No one is meant to die, well, maybe naturally.” Henderson added, following the Sheriff as he returned to the office. “That’s why you were the only one able to save the little girl this week: it’s meant to make you feel better, I think. But if you hadn’t saved her, if you’d gone for donuts instead, I would’ve arrived five minutes later to get her down.”

“Damn!”

“Huh?”

“So, everything is engineered, right?” The Sheriff glowered at the paper. “Nothing is going to go wrong, ever?”

“Maybe not ever, but, you don’t want to be out there, sir, in the real world.” The Deputy sat down when the Sheriff indicated for him to do so. “It’s changed too much, I don’t think you’d be able to deal with all that happened. Not just the planetary conquest and the things done on the Emperor’s command, but the way Earth is ruled now, the Imperial Council’s stated goals for the conversion of all humans into chimeras, it’s not the place you left when you were drugged, Sheriff.”

“Who do you really work for?” The Sheriff looked at him sharply. “I’m guessing it’s not me.”

“Err, Chimera Intelligence recruited me.” Henderson admitted. “I answer directly to the Minister.”

“Corey’s organisation, right?” The Sheriff mused, thinking of the quiet teenager he used to know, the one who hung around with Stiles after Theo had disappeared. “Hard to think of him as the head of a group dedicated to spies and assassins.”

“I think that was the Emperor’s point.” He smirked, “My role is simple, Sheriff, ensure you live out the rest of your days in comfort and peace. There’ll be a few unexpected incidents and adventures to keep things interesting, but if you ever just want to sit on your front porch and watch the world go by with a cold beer, then say the word and I’ll make it happen.”

“Well, I suppose that’s something.” The Sheriff grinned at him and settled back into the chair. “Never took a day off since I made Sheriff in Beacon Hills.”

 

The Osprey set down in the middle of the jungle, oppressive heat washing over him as soon as Theo emerged from the aircraft into the insect-ridden hell. He swatted at them absently and walked slowly down the worn trail towards the colonial house just visible through the trees. _She already knows I’m here, I bet. Though I hope she stays put, I don’t want to have to chase Ghost all over the damn Empire again._ Theo batted away a larger than average insect and glared at the jungle. “Who on earth would choose to live here?”

“I would.” Ghost materialized in front of him, a frown passing over her face, claws bared. “But why is the First Chimera here? And with none of your little soldiers either? Hmm, is dear old Guardian Prime going to burst forth suddenly from the undergrowth and accuse me of heresy?” 

Theo ignored her laughter and shook his head. “Only the Emperor knows I’m here, he’s the one who found you by the way. Did you really think you could avoid him? Stiles always knows the location of his chimeras, Ghost.”

“What the hell do you want, Theo?” Ghost flicked her claws back in. “Because I just want to live in peace, no distractions, no one else for miles around, all alone out here. Why can’t you give me that?”

“Because you still have value to the Empire.” Theo followed her back to her house. “Because I have a task I need someone to complete who won’t tell _anyone_ else. But mostly because I’ve read all of your files now, spoke to all the chimeras that are still alive who remember your missions, and I know that this isn’t you.” He gestured at the garden and the vegetable patch, the fruit trees heavy with mangos and papayas, the house with its peeling white paint and worn shutters. “You must be bored to death out here! Is that why you were stalking me in the forest?”

“One of many reasons.” Ghost glanced at his cold expression and sighed. “What’s the job?”

“Hmm, this doesn’t have to be a one-time thing either, Ghost.” Theo offered, folding his arms when she gestured at a chair next to her. “The Empire is expanding, and with it, our influence grows ever wider. I’m going to need a loyal and deadly assassin of my own to ensure Stiles’ dream doesn’t falter, to investigate the possibilities of heretics across the many planets that we even now control. In short, I need you: ruthless, calculating, a survivor.”

“And what do I get in return?”

“Oh, you can come back to this crumbling ruin for however long you live your mortal chimera life. Or…” Theo paused and smirked. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a vial of violet liquid, shaking it gently as Ghost’s expression sharpened. “So, you do know what this is? Good, it’s always easier to provide incentive when you understand the value of what’s on offer.”

“The Purple Serum.” She licked her lips and stared at the ampoule hungrily. “I haven’t had it.”

“I know, you can only get it from approved Imperial facilities.” Theo placed it on the railing next to him. “Consider it a motivational tool, what I’m going to ask you to do is a little different from breaking into the Pentagon and killing all the high-ranking officials inside. You’ll need to be silent, in and out with no one else knowing about your presence.”

“So, I take the Purple Serum and live forever?” Ghost asked, thoughts lingering on the vial.

“It’ll keep aging from starting for about two hundred years,” The First Chimera explained. “After that, you’ll need another dose, and on and on into infinity. At least that’s our current estimates, we won’t know for sure until we get to that point. But that means you’ll work for me, huh?”

“I’m listening.” Ghost muttered, her eyes darting from the vial to Theo’s face. “Who’s the target?”

“Everything you need to know is on the Osprey, but let’s just say that I’m giving you the opportunity to clean up a mess that has affected the highest levels of our Empire. However, the official sanction comes from me, the First Chimera, and no one else. This must remain a secret.” Theo grinned when the assassin stood up and gestured for her to follow. “Oh, and you’ll need to pack something warm, the place you’re going is very cold and very dark.”

 

“I have those files for you, Minister.” Nolan said, glancing at Corey as the door shut behind the threat analysis team. “Do you want them now?”

“Yeah, thanks.” Corey smiled at him. “And I told you before that it’s fine to use my actual name regardless of where we are. We’re friends, right?”

“Of course, Corey.”

“Great, ok.” Corey paused, appearing to be lost in thought as Nolan sat down. “Um, I have a mission for you.”

“Who do you want me to kill?” Nolan replied emotionlessly.

“Not that kind of mission!”

“Oh, well, what is it?”

“The orbital construction yards at Moonbase Alpha and Beta are getting backed up, so the Emperor wants to set up a new one deeper into space.” Corey explained, sitting on the edge of his glass table, facing Nolan. “Marric is already on site, bringing in the equipment and resupplying our city there. But I want you to oversee the creation of new Leviathan construction yards at our Deep Space Communications and Training Center on Mars.”

“Me?” Nolan blinked, standing up and moving closer to Corey. “But I’m just-”

“You’ve been invaluable these past few years, Nolan,” Corey smiled, getting to his feet and placing his hands on the other chimera’s shoulders. “I trust you to carry the authorization to the Red Planet and begin overseeing the building efforts. And don’t worry, I’ll join you in a few weeks. We’ll make sure everything is moving along and then Marric will appoint an overseer to take over from us; we’ll be back in the capital before Garrett’s birthday, and months before he has to leave for his new colony world.”

“If you’re sure.” Nolan frowned at him and glanced at Corey’s lingering hand. “I don’t really know anything about Leviathan construction anyway, maybe someone from the Science Division would be better suited?”

“And if you had to do any of the actual building, then I’d agree. But Marric will have his engineers set up and the initial pylon placement for the space docks mapped out by the time you arrive.” Corey lowered his voice and pulled his hand away to grab a nearby folder. “Look, I know it’s not what you’re used to, and I don’t want you to be gone for so long either, but there’s been more than a few accidental deaths on the Moon sites. We need to make sure that legacy doesn’t follow into the rest of the Leviathan docks. So, poke around, see if you can find anything odd or out of place.”

“You suspect sabotage?” Nolan nodded slowly and flicked out his claws, inspecting them. “How far does my official sanction go?”

“The Emperor’s law is clear: anyone found tampering with Imperial property or interfering in the creation of the bio-ships is to be killed, without exception. It hasn’t been needed yet, the threat matrix is way down.” Corey gestured vaguely at the Operations Center outside his office. “It might just be accidents, it might not be, use your judgement and if you find something amiss, deal with it.”

“Happy to.” The assassin hummed under his breath, “So, when is my flight?”

“There’s a shuttle taking off from Fort Connor outside the capital in three hours,” Corey switched on the monitor attached to the wall, a schedule of flights appearing. “Then you’ll rendezvous with the Leviathan _Emperor’s Vision_ which will ferry you out to Mars. Flight time is about an hour, so don’t get too settled in.”

“No worries of that.” Nolan grinned. “It’ll take me longer to get to Fort Connor!”

“Ok, call me when you arrive.”

“What are you going to tell Garrett?”

“That you’ll be back in a few weeks,” Corey shrugged as Nolan smirked at him. “Besides, he has his own work to do, we’re going to be spread out a lot for the next few years. But with the advances Marric has been making lately in the antimatter engines, we’ll be able to jump from place to place in no time at all.”

“Hmm, I guess you’re right.” Nolan gathered up the files and placed them inside the steel briefcase that Corey pointed to. “Tell him that we’ll have to pick up our game some other time.”

“I will.” Corey stood up, walking the other chimera to the door. He placed his hand back on the assassin’s shoulder, leaning in. “Fly safe, Nolan, I don’t want to lose you.”

“Relax, Corey, stalking enemies lurking in the shadows of the Empire is what I do best.” Nolan grinned at him, their farewell lingering a little longer than seemed necessary. He noticed Corey fidgeting with the hem of his shirt, eyes dragging up his torso, delaying a moment on the exposed skin at his collar before finally reaching his purple eyes. “I’ll see you in a few weeks, it won’t be that long.” Nolan parted his lips, breathing in as Corey wetted his own, the familiar scent of arousal sparking between them the same way it had been doing for months now. “Err, I better get going if I don’t want to miss my flight.”

“Yeah, I know.” Corey let him go, trailing his hand down Nolan’s sleeve until his fingers were brushing across the chimera’s bare skin. “For the glory of the Empire, right?”

“Glory!” Nolan whispered back with a grin. He surprised the other chimera by bending forward suddenly and wrapping his arms around Corey, hugging him tight before pulling away just as rapidly and walking out the door into the bustling Operations Center.

 

A gleaming white temple dominated the land around the Archon’s Palace, the massive structure mimicking the architecture of the Overmind’s ancient city. Ka’narack was a hub of activity across the desert, kept out of view from the Palace by the dunes, though they could see the constant stream of aircraft and flying chimeras coming to and fro over the skies of the region. Lydia and Alexander were lounging on the expansive patio at the rear of the Palace, looking out across the verdant greens of the park and deep, cobalt blue of the pools arrayed throughout the gardens as the strong sun blazed overhead. Jackson was nearby, lying on his stomach, reading a report from _Glória do Imperador,_ a comfortable silence hanging between the trio.

Lydia pulled her eyes away from Jackson’s shirtless back, gleaming with tanning oil, and turned her attention towards the crib placed between herself and Alexander, looking over the railing to smile at the baby sleeping peacefully inside. Another toddler sat next to her, idly playing with his toys and running plastic cars across the marble tiles towards Alexander’s feet, clapping excitedly when his father reacted with surprise. Lydia smirked and fanned herself as she tilted her face back up towards the sun. There was a hot, dry wind drifting through the marble halls behind them, lifting the white linen drapes and banners ever so slightly. But the trio were used to the heat by now, dressing in light clothes, bright yellows and lavish oranges offset the harshness of the desert sun, skin darkening when bared to the blazing orb.

The symbol of the Empire rippled gently in front of her, a constant reminder that everything had changed from when she and Jackson were last around each other as often as they were now. It wasn’t so much that Lydia hated the Empire, more that she was saddened by what had happened to Stiles and the countless lives that were lost to satisfy his dreams of glory and power. Lydia had spoken to Jackson many times about it in the year after the wars ended and the Archon visited with them. But eventually he had managed to persuade her to see the opportunity that this new world presented. The Banshee knew that she alone could not turn back the clock and put the chimeras back in the box, the best she could do now was to use her position as the wife of Archon Alexander to influence the Empire’s rebuilding of the home world.

She had been pleased to learn that Connor was going to be declared Supreme Archon of Earth in the coming weeks as Stiles moved his seat of power off-world to begin his galactic conquest and the settling of dozens of worlds. The Guardian Prime was still the most loyal and devoted chimera the Emperor had, but Lydia had experienced Connor’s kind and generous nature for herself. If anyone could nurture the broken populations of Earth towards a beneficial future it was him. Even in this quiet corner of the Empire, Lydia had been able to convince Alexander to take a more active role in his citizens’ well-being. Infrastructure and road-building had been among the core policies the Archon enacted, followed swiftly by housing projects, schools, sanitation, industry, and leisure.

Lydia smiled as she thought of her trip to the bazaar the day before, chimeras and humans alike bowing to her and offering her purchases as gifts. It wasn’t as though she was doing this for the recognition, of course, but rather something Jackson had said to her. The chimera wouldn’t discuss what had happened with Scott, either in Beacon Hills or when he was resurrected, but Lydia could see the pain in Jackson’s eyes when she brought up the fractured memories of the time after she had been rescued from Eichen House. Part of her wanted to pressure him into telling the truth, but Jackson assured her that unearthing the bones of the past would cause nothing but heartache. She pursed her lips, staring at the banner at the end of the patio, the blood red circle folding back on itself as-

“Lydia?” Alexander’s voice pulled the Banshee from her thoughts and she looked over at him.

“Yes, husband?”

“Jackson and I are going to cool off,” Alexander wiped sweat from his brow as Jackson rolled over and sat up. “This heat is too oppressive to just sit here. Are you coming?”

“Gladly.” Lydia smiled at them both, gesturing for a lingering chimera to come forward. “My mother is in the solar reading to the orphans, Nanny, take the children there.”

“Of course, Lydia.”

“Let’s go.” She stood up, patting her son gently on the head and followed Alexander and Jackson down the steps into the coolness of the gardens. They walked briskly along trimmed paths, Alexander taking a left and leading the trio into one of the more secluded pools, hidden from view of those remaining on the patio. “Oh, so one of _those_ cooling off sessions?!”

“Is there any other kind, my dear?” Alexander smiled at her and Jackson, unbuttoning his shirt and letting in fall from his shoulders with ease. His light trousers followed, graceful movements leaving the Archon naked as he entered the tiled pool area. 

“After you,” Jackson gestured grandly with a smirk, watching as Lydia slipped by, her fingers undoing the golden clasps of her dress and stepping out of it in front of him. He walked behind her, eyes lingering on Lydia’s naked form, tanned skin flushed from the sun, his shorts beginning to bulge.

Lydia glanced over her shoulder with a carefree laugh, eying Jackson as he undid his belt and moved around her towards Alexander. She walked forwards, entering the pool with a contented moan, the cold water dulling the heat that infused her skin. Lydia swam forwards, dipping her entire body into the pool and turned onto her back as a splash heralded the entrance of Alexander. His sleek form moved through the water, joining her in the deeper part of the pool with a kiss, their bodies wrapping around one another. Lydia tilted her head, allowing him to kiss her neck, gaze darting over to Jackson, equally naked, lying on his side at the edge of the water, idly watching them. Birdsong and heat dulled the senses all around them as passion flared like the chimeras’ purple eyes.

 

Jackson pulled himself away from the silk sheets of the large bed that dominated the Archon’s chambers, padding towards the window as he glanced over his shoulder. Lydia and Alexander were still asleep, naked bodies shifting against each other in their slumber, the Banshee lying on top of the chimera’s muscular body. Jackson poured himself a cup of water and tied a loose robe around his waist. He moved out onto the balcony that ran the length of the family level of the Palace. The night air was cool and dry, making the chimera smile at the starry sky as the moon’s beams played across his face and chest, bouncing off the once-brilliant white of the sand, now diminished to deep purples and violets. 

He tilted his face upwards, eyes open as he looked up at the spread of constellations across the night sky. Jackson smirked as he remembered the Emperor’s promise to turn the stars themselves purple, a florid turn of phrase if ever there was one. But Stiles _was_ actually establishing bases and frontiers in space and on distant planets, seemingly determined to fulfil his vow and the dreams of what the chimeras always referred to simply as “Glory!” He searched the sky for a brighter star than the others, the Emperor’s new space station, a massive construct that was rumoured to be capable of motion itself. Jackson tapped the polished limestone railing that ran around the balcony, idly wondering if a Leviathan sat at the heart of the space station too. “Well, it’d make sense; we don’t have the resources to build something that big out of conventional materials…”

The Archon shrugged, pushing the thoughts of space exploration from his mind, recalling his decision to reject an offer to establish a colony world in TRAPPIST-1 alongside Liam and Philip. Despite taking the Purple Serum and confirming his desire to live forever, Jackson was content to spend a decade or more alongside Lydia and Alexander as their companion and friend. He would wait until aging began to take their mortal forms and then perhaps another opportunity to discover the secrets of the galaxy would appear. His city and territory were well-governed by his appointed subordinates, the minor decisions he had to make could be done from Alexander’s Palace in the sands. Stiles’ orders had been clear: Lydia could not leave the region-as if she ever wanted to- so Jackson always came to them. At first it had been for a few weeks after Lydia and Alexander’s son had been born, then it was a month every season, until now when he had been here for four months and had no desire to return to _Glória do Imperador_.

“Haha,” Jackson laughed quietly to himself and turned around, looking through the open doors at the naked lovers, feeling his cock rise again. “Why would I leave when I have everything I desire here?!” He glanced down and fondled himself, somewhat surprised that he was aroused; their adventure in the pool had already drained a load from him, and the celebration of each other’s bodies had continued late into the night. Not even an hour before Jackson had spilled his seed on Lydia’s heaving breasts, while Alexander’s long dick plunged repeatedly inside her until he came undone as well. The other chimera was a handsome man, awakening desires in him that Jackson had never considered before, though had eagerly embraced one night after the heat became unbearable and old passions were renewed. He grinned and undid the robe, walking back over to the bed as the other Archon awoke and demonstrated he too was ready for another go of it.

 

“Archon of the Eastern Seas…” Brett sniggered to himself as he looked at the shiny plaque under the statue of the former Archon, Peter Hale. “It sounds like something out of a fantasy novel.”

“It _is_ the formal title, Archon.”

“I know,” Brett glanced at the chimera next to him, a well-dressed young man in a suit and a severe expression, holding a clipboard in one hand and a pen in the other. All that was missing were a pair of glasses he could frown over, the enhanced eyesight he was gifted with making such accessory a frivolous excess. “What’s your name again?”

“Archibald, Archon.”

“Really? Your parents saddled you with that?!” Brett quirked a brow, shrugging when _Archibald_ looked back at him, his scent shifting to one of mild offense. “Err, great, ok, so, I want to tear this entire wing down to make room for the lacrosse stadium. The Victory City Vipers want to play against the Eastern Eagles in four months’ time, so, can we have that ready by then?”

“This structure has stood since eighteen-eighty-two.” Archibald stared at him in horror. “And while the previous Archon might have had some terrible taste in vain projects of self-reflection, he did amass quite the impressive art collection, I really-”

“Uh huh,” Brett shook his head, “Yeah, that’s not really going to work for me. Send them down the coast to that city that’s been designated a repository for old-world artefacts and stuff. They can display it, I want this building torn down and replaced with the stadium, ok?”

“As you wish, Archon.” Archibald replied frostily. “I will set the builders to the task at once.”

“Good, good, walk with me.” The chimera gestured and smirked when he heard the assistant’s sharply inhaled breath. “I swear I won’t make you piss on a rare fourteenth century tapestry, ok?”

“I am behind you, Archon.”

“So, Archibald, bit of an odd name, but I don’t mind, I like it actually. Have you been in my city long?”

“Yes, Archon, I served your predecessor.” The chimera replied smoothly, following him down an ornately decorated hall and into a wide-open plaza, surrounded on all sides by scaffolding as Brett replaced, rebuilt, or destroyed the old Archon’s sprawling Palace. “He too had an appetite for change, though it was more geared towards self-enrichment and power creation.”

“Oh? And what do you think of what I’ve been doing?” Brett asked, stopping in front of a bronze fountain. The metal was still shiny from its installation the week before. He ran his hands over the naked youths moulded in gold and silver that frolicked through the streams of water, cupping their smooth butts. “Do you like it? Do you approve?”

“It is not my place to approve or not, Archon, I am simply a tool to be used in realization of your vision of a prosperous and bountiful regional capital.” Archibald followed his hands and shrugged. “But I do like the color and variety that you have introduced. And speaking of such…” He pointed at a line of skimpily dressed young men and women entering the plaza.

“Ahh, my nine o’clock is here!” Brett grinned and patted Archibald on the shoulder. “We’ll have to continue this later.”

“As you wish, Archon.”

“Great! Keep it up, Archie!” Brett nodded and turned away from his assistant, taking the shorter route into the Archon’s chambers on the upper floor of the dour, grey fortress that Peter Hale had built. He had turned most of it into bright and airy rooms and long, colorful galleries for the display of the many carnal delights that filled his city. The Archon’s Palace had become a sprawling temple and governmental complex that almost rivalled the size of the Emperor’s Palace in Victory City. Brett had worried about the optics of such construction at first, but a personal visit from the Chimera Emperor Himself put his mind at ease, the Alpha Chimera and Guardian Prime both granting him approval for his expansion plans.

 _“Earth is, and will always be, the center of the Galactic Chimera Empire!”_ His master’s words came back to Brett as he slowed his pace. _“It must be a planet of infinite beauty and splendour! Wealth and prosperity to inspire all the worlds across the galaxy; the palaces and fortresses adorning its many great cities are to be the stuff of legends so that all chimeras, no matter where they are born, will want to cross the vastness of space and glory in the demonstration of our unending might!”_

The Archon grinned as he remembered the Emperor’s smile when Brett had shown him his plans. “He approved, I mean, it doesn’t matter what anyone else thinks then, huh?” There was no one beside him to answer and Brett continued walking towards his apartments. He was content to improve the holdings of the Eastern Sea, spending his days altering the cities and lands under his control as though he was playing a giant city-building game. Though he ruled the territory without the help of a partner or lover, Brett was never alone during his nights, filling them with endless pleasure and debauchery at the many clubs, discos, and lust bars that he had established throughout the city of Chimera’s Reach. He could sleep with a different human or chimera every night, the Purple Serum ensuring that he would never grow old and indifferent to the desires of his cock, a sensation he hoped to spread across the Empire one day.

“Ah, there you all are!” Brett exclaimed as he entered the large living room in his apartments, forsaking the traditional hall and raised dais that seemed to be the style of the Empire’s other palaces. He grinned at the young men and women gathered around the table, nodding approvingly at the glasses in their hands. “I am deeply pleased to have you all with me and so glad that you have decided to avail of the opportunity to indulge in a life of lust and excess in my personal chambers!” 

“We’re here to serve.” A dark-haired man bowed shortly, mischievous eyes meeting Brett’s before darting down to linger around his crotch. “In whatever way you desire, Archon.”

“Hmm, I remember you, great lips, great tongue!” Brett nodded and gestured for the group to follow him through to the next room. It was part of a series of open-plan bedrooms and bathrooms, the gentle tinkling of water could be heard from a large, square infinity pool in the outer courtyard. The twinkling lights of the city were visible behind Brett as he spread his arms. “Make yourselves at home, I’m sure I’ll get to know each of you on a personal and group level! All except for you,” The Archon reached out and pulled the dark-haired man against him. “You, I’m going to get to know right now!”

“Err, I think there’s a message for you?”

“Huh? Crap.” Brett growled and moved across to the touchscreen display built into the wall, his assistant’s face appearing. “What is it?”

“I have a high priority call from the Imperial Palace and the Mars Orbital Approach Dock.” Archibald looked at him with ill-concealed irritation. “They’re waiting for you in the conference room, Archon.”

“Ugh, fine,” He sighed and walked away from his bed, still holding the young man’s hand. “Oh, don’t worry, you can still worship my cock, I just won’t be paying much attention to you right away. The camera is tilted towards my face, so they won’t even see you!” 

“Sounds perfect, Archon!”

“Yup.” Brett grinned as he sat down and waited for the man to get on his knees and pull out his hard dick. He typed quickly on the keypad and glanced at the large monitor that was attached to the wall in front of him. “Archibald, who am I talking to?”

“I have Marric, Hero of the Empire on the left from Mars, and on the right,” There was an inhalation of breath followed by the rapid declaration of Connor’s many titles. “His grace and glory, the Supreme Archon of Earth, Guardian Prime, Shield of the Emperor, Orator of His Divine Will-”

“Yeah, ok, it’s Connor, I got that.”

“As you wish, Archon.” Archibald replied stiffly after being interrupted. “Opening the channel now.”

“Marric! Connor! Good to see you again, even if it is over such distances.” Brett greeted them, smiling at the Guardian Prime first and then glancing at Marric. “To what do I owe screen time with such distinguished chimeras?”

“You can ease up on the boot-licking.” Connor frowned at him. “Marric and I are curious if you’ve considered our proposal?”

“Uh…” Brett blinked, distracted by the talented mouth on his cock. “Um, which proposal would that be?”

“To establish a tourism, entertainment, and pleasure colony on one of the new Tropical-class worlds we’ve found in the Tau Ceti system.” Marric answered for him. “We’ve sent you the data before, Brett, although I understand that you are quite…um, busy.”

“Hey, when you’re talking to the chimera who made the Eastern Seas the most popular tourist destination on Earth other than Victory City, you have to know what you’re getting yourself into.” Brett shrugged, one hand disappearing under the table to grip the youth’s hair and prevent himself from cumming so soon after the blow job had begun. “You guys know what I’m saying?”

“Yeah, we understand.” Connor spoke carefully. “And the Emperor has declared that the citizens of the Empire should have worlds that are not dedicated solely to military, exploration, or scientific endeavour. We are establishing other planets as population centers, industrial giants, farming colonies, and so on. But you seem to have a unique grasp on how to capitalize on both human and chimera desires for the profit of the Empire. That is why we are interested in giving you control of this planet and its resources.”

“Hmm, how far away is it?”

“Twelve light-years.” Marric glanced at something that was off-screen. “With the new improvements to our Leviathans, we can have you out there in ten days, maybe nine if we push the engines.”

“That’s a long time for me to be away.” Brett answered slowly. “I would need to bring more than a few assistants and pleasure-keepers.”

“There would be plenty of space,” The Guardian Prime assured him. “The only other cargo heading to that system is for follow-up observation, planet-side orbital relays, and some atmosphere generators for the planet closest to the sun. It’s being bombarded by solar rays; but has vast deposits of gold and platinum beneath the surface that we need to mine. Besides, you haven’t lived until you’ve seen the beaches of this new world, am I right, Marric?”

“Heaven itself!” The other chimera agreed, nodding enthusiastically. “I swear, you won’t ever want to leave once you arrive, Brett!”

“Hmm, I guess I could…oh, fuck, not yet!”

Connor rolled his eyes and glared at the Archon. “Call us back when you’re ready to discuss this further, I can see that you are occupied at the moment.”

“Yup!” Brett managed, the screens flickering into darkness. He thrust himself backwards in his seat, unloading the rest of his cum into the willing mouth as his mind dreamt of far-off oceans and the promise of an entire planet dedicated to endless pleasure. “I could go for that!”

 

Garrett looked up as Corey entered the apartment, greeting his boyfriend with a smile. He stood to kiss the younger chimera before glancing behind him. “No Nolan this evening?”

“You don’t have to sound _that_ disappointed.” Corey sniggered at him. “He’s beginning to notice by the way.”

“Err, I think that was the point, right?”

“Garrett!” Corey frowned. “I told you that-”

“The three-way relationship with the Emperor and First Chimera was too much drama,” The Löwenmensch finished for him, pulling Corey back onto the couch where he had been sitting before. “I’m not saying that we let Nolan into our lives completely, but I have a nose, Corey, the scent change that happens when the two of you are in the same room…”

“Uh huh.” His boyfriend shook his head slightly. “Well, you’re gonna have to wait a few weeks at least until you see Nolan again, I’ve sent him on a high priority mission to Mars.”

“Really? Doing what?”

“It’s classified.” Corey answered smugly as Garrett rolled his eyes. “The details anyway, ostensibly he’ll be out there to assist the construction division of Chimera Space Command in setting up a new orbital space dock over the Red Planet.”

“But the rest of the mission is a secret?” Garrett frowned, tapping his fingers on Corey’s arm gently. “As long as he’s safe, he’s served the Empire well, I’d hate to see anything happen to him. Plus, we do have a game to finish!”

“I should have never let him introduce you to video games!” Corey mock-groaned and fell sideways onto Garrett’s lap. He grinned when the Löwenmensch wrapped his muscular arms around his body and they rested there in comfortable silence for a few minutes. “Have you made much progress on your plans for the new colony in the Epsilon Eridani system?”

“We have got to come up with better names than those, Corey.” Garrett laughed shortly and carefully righted his boyfriend. He stood up and gestured for Corey to follow him into the kitchen where sheets of paper covered with calculations and drawings were scattered around 3D models. “I’m actually surprised Theo hasn’t started naming everything after the Empire, we already do that for the new colonies on the planets, after all.”

“I’m sure someone is working on it.” Corey mumbled, eyes flicking across the table. “This looks good; I really like the layout of the first city. It’s very neat; industrial and production zones in one area, residential in another, that German efficacy, huh? What’s this building here?”

“We’ll have an Exarch with us, won’t we?” Garrett answered, showing him a model. “It’s a temple for the chimera religion. Pretty much guaranteeing us a visit from Connor, which would be good.”

“Why? You don’t really believe.”

“It’s not about that,” The Löwenmensch sighed. “You two used to be really great friends, I’m not sure when that stopped, but you should reconnect, and if getting the Guardian Prime to open some architectural monstrosity on a distant world will get you guys talking again, I’ll do it.”

“Thanks, Garrett.” Corey mumbled, blushing. “We’ve just been so busy lately, I haven’t really taken any time off, and Connor doesn’t seem to understand the meaning of the word vacation.”

“Well, it’ll still take a few months to get ourselves up and running out there.” Garrett shrugged, casting his eye over the latest calculations. “With travel time of about a day per light-year using the new antimatter engines, we should reach it in ten days, but that’s a twenty day round trip for supplies and materials.”

“The Leviathans are gonna carry two hundred chimeras and a hundred human volunteers on each colony mission.” Corey explained, bracing himself on the table. “I haven’t actually seen them arrive in-system, but Marric has and he said in the latest briefing that we need to continue to use traditional rockets and the Space Shuttle to dock with them on the Earth side. Or Mars side.” He added, thinking of Nolan hurtling through space as he spoke.

“And on the colony side? Don’t they have a smaller, detachable bio-ship that will get us to the ground?”

“That’s right.” The younger chimera nodded. “Priority one for all colonies is to find, harvest, or bring the materials necessary to build the Orbital Approach Dock for all future Leviathans to use. Once the science divisions figure out how to create space elevators for use on all worlds, we should be able to dispense with the rockets and orbital vehicles after that. Obviously, the Leviathans themselves can’t land on any colony world we’ve found so far; they’d never escape the gravitational forces to get into orbit again.”

“Hmm,” Garrett listened to Corey continue to speak, smiling at him as he did so. They were in a good place now, even better than before he had left to find the Ghost Riders, now that he was content in his place among the Imperial hierarchy. The new colony began to take on a more definite shape as they planned through the night, throwing around ideas as Garrett sketched them out. His dreams of glory and the promise of power granted by the Emperor made the future look brighter than ever before for the Löwenmensch. He grinned at Corey when they finally fell into bed early the following morning, “I don’t think I’ve ever been happier!”

“I know that feeling, Garrett.” Corey smiled back at him and pressed his lips against the Löwenmensch’s. “Everything is perfect!” 

 

Sobek watched as the large stone slabs were raised up the scaffolding by the powerful crane, the machine doing in minutes what would have taken his people hours to achieve at the height of the Old Kingdom of Egypt. The crocodile-headed chimera turned when he heard Horus approach, a cloud of dust kicked up by his feet and those of the many Faithful that accompanied him. “The monument is taking form.”

“I can see that. Already it stretches beyond the heights that previously we could only dream of.” Horus stood next to him, dismissing his followers with a wave. “But I do not come to talk of honoring the Emperor.”

“Does the Guardian of the Overmind require our presence?”

“He would never admit such, but Bastet assures me he values our advice.” Horus pointed at the sleek, silver box behind them. “They have given me wings of metal, so that I may speak with our brothers and sisters, spread out as we are across this world.”

“A good idea,” Sobek nodded. He gestured at the workers toiling on the massive structure. “These Faithful have the will, and the chimeras have the vision, but none of them have the knowledge we do, Horus, to raise the great tombs and monuments to the glory of our master. They must be guided!”

“Then guide them from afar.” The falcon-headed chimera replied, tanned arms folded across his bare chest. “The Guardian Prime has need of us while the Overmind steps aboard his ship of the heavens.”

“As you wish.” Sobek sighed, running his hands over the rough sandstone blocks that made up the monument to the Emperor. “And I only just returned from the capital…”

“The Exarch’s ceremony went well, I thought.” Horus said, walking with Sobek back to the Osprey. “So many eager young chimeras willing to spread our master’s words to far reaches of the skies.”

“Which master do you mean?” The crocodile’s jaw went slack, allowing him to grin at the falcon. 

“I will not dignify that with a response.” Horus replied stiffly, gesturing for the other chimera to enter the aircraft first. “We still have to collect Anubis and Taweret; they are overseeing the creation of a temple complex in the far Eastern Territories.”

“I have heard that they seek to rival the grandeur of the Palace of the Overmind in Ka’narack itself, a bold claim if ever there was one!” Sobek laughed, a rolling, dry sound. “They certainly have the manpower to achieve it, though I am curious what the Guardian Prime will think of his likeness being carved into the first temple?”

“You already know the answer to that, I think.” The falcon-headed chimera closed his eyes as the Osprey lifted into the air, great plumes of dust kicked up when he looked down at the ground again. The pyramid that Sobek was building was amongst the largest he had ever seen; the completed sections being decorated with reliefs of the Emperor’s many victories. The Ancient chimera settled back into his seat and nodded silently at Sobek.

“I think another few years should have the complex complete.” 

“Why so long?” Horus arched a brow.

“Pyramids in the desert may be all that are left of our great kingdom now, Horus, but do you not remember the mighty cities that rose up nearby to build them? The countless smaller tombs and marvels that were built around the greatest?” The chimera gestured grandly as he spoke. “I would see that recreated here, and then I would have these chimeras bring the knowledge to every world of the Empire so that all can witness the glory of the Overmind!”

 

Mason looked up at the arrivals board, silently calculating the added delay of the Leviathan exiting the space dock into Liam and Philip’s ETA. He sighed and turned around, looking out the window at the bleak lunar landscape. It was interrupted now and then by large domes and miles of cabling that stretched across the surface of the Moon, linking parts of the habitats together. The chimera could just see the edge of the sprawling Leviathan construction yards from his position; the great metal gantries rising up from the Moon into space above, half-completed chimera frames were bone-white against the blackness of the void. He felt his pulse speed up as Mason imagined what the newest Leviathans would look like; larger than anything they had created to date. 

“Now arriving, the four-oh-eight morning service from Victory City. This shuttle will be departing gate forty-three in one hour.”

The smooth, female voice prompted Mason to turn around and run back over to the barrier, his thoughts forgotten. He searched the flood of chimeras and humans coming out of the shuttle bay, grinning widely when he found Liam’s face. “Over here!”

“We see you, Mason!” Liam called out, pushing his way through to pull the other chimera into a tight hug. “Aw, man, it’s been too long!”

“Yeah, it has,” Mason smiled at Philip once Liam let him go. “Were you delayed long on Earth or something? I expected you thirty minutes ago.”

“I know it only takes like twenty minutes from the space elevator to here, but there was a priority launch to Mars ahead of us.” Philip explained. “I don’t know who was going, but they had us take the space shuttle directly from the ground.”

“Aw, that sucks,” Mason gestured for them to follow him out of the arrivals lounge and down to ground level, the elevator whisking them from near-orbit to the surface in seconds. “I know the team that built the Earth-to-Orbital Approach Dock space elevator and there really is nothing like going from sea level to the stars in thirty seconds!”

“I bet.” Liam nodded glumly. “I really wanted to see that. But I guess we’ll have plenty of time to build one on the new colony world, huh?”

“Yeah, and where we’re going has less gravity than Earth, so it should be easier to construct, right, Mason?” Philip asked the engineer, seeing him nod. “But I swear we won’t take up the whole stop-over talking about the colony!”

“It is everyone’s favorite topic of conversation right now.” Mason shrugged, showing them into a small carriage, dozens of others sliding open in a line behind them. “This is the new bullet train that wraps around the outer edges of Moonbase Alpha. There’s talk of extending it to Moonbase Beta in the next few months, but for now it connects the space dock with the habitats.”

“Cool.” Liam grinned and looked out the window, his expression tinged with awe as they raced across the dead surface of the Moon, grey dust and massive craters adorning the barren landscape. “Are we meeting Ryder anywhere or are we gonna head to your hab first?”

“I was thinking the hab first,” Mason nodded. “I’m not sure when Ryder will be home, he’s meant to be finishing his shift around now, but when I called him at lunchtime, he said that they were about to install the first phase of the antimatter drive core. It could take an hour, or six, if there are complications.”

“What does he do again?” Philip asked as the carriage began to slow down, a large, opaque dome rising in front of them.

“He’s an engineer too,” Mason replied, smiling as he thought about his boyfriend. “Terrakinetic chimera that helps to construct the plates that form the outer layer of the Leviathan’s hide. But he also supervises the installation of major components like the bridge, engines, particle accelerator, that sort of thing.”

“Oh, hey, man, I meant to congratulate you on the award!” Liam pulled his eyes away from the lunar surface as they entered a dark tunnel leading to the habitat. “Recognition from the First Chimera for your services to zero-gravity sanitation, cool, right?” 

“Uh, I guess.” Mason frowned as he saw Liam and Philip exchange a careful look. “It was an honor to meet the First Chimera and he was really nice, not at all like his reputation.”

“Uh huh.”

“I know it’s the only one that’s been formally recognized, and I don’t want to brag or anything, but I have made plenty of other ideas and suggestions that have helped make the Leviathans or our space stations more effective.” Mason allowed himself a moment of pride as the other two smiled warmly at him. “But enough blowing my own horn, we’re almost at the habitat. I’ll show you where you’ll be staying for the duration and then we’ll have dinner.”

“What is it?”

“Steak and fries.”

“Huh?” Liam stared at him. “I didn’t know you had moon-cows!”

“Err, it comes in on the supply shuttle…” Mason sniggered at his crestfallen expression, gesturing for them to exit the train. “What? Did you think we put them in space suits with bobble helmets and let them bounce around on the surface?”

“No,” Liam grunted as even Philip laughed. “I just…just show us your hab already.”

“This way.” Mason led them through a warren of pristine white corridors until they emerged in a bustling central square, kiosks and booths lining the side, selling everything from clothing to fresh fruit. He pointed at the tall spire that rose up through the center of plaza. “That’s where we’re going: engineers get the best quarters in Moonbase Alpha, right below the Imperial level where the Emperor would stay should He choose to grace us with His divine presence.” Mason missed Liam’s expression and moved quickly across the square.

Once inside the spire, another elevator whisked them upwards, clear walls allowing the visiting chimeras to get a good view of the large residential district. “Pretty impressive, huh?”

“Very,” Philip whispered, holding Liam’s hand as they gazed out at the white blocks and explosions of greenery throughout the habitat. “Has it taken long to build?”

“Um, two years?” Mason nodded. “Yeah, that’s right, because Moonbase Beta opened last year, and Delta is slated for completion in three months. Ah, here we are!”

Liam and Philip followed him inside a large, spacious apartment. Like everything else in Moonbase Alpha, it was painted a dazzling shade of white, only the splashes of blue and purple on some of the walls showing off Mason and Ryder’s personality. “Your room is in here, with a great view of the sun setting over the Sea of Tranquillity.”

“Awesome!” Liam grinned and dumped his carry-on bag next to the window. “I assume you guys have a washing machine, right? They’re holding our actual luggage until we leave next week.”

“Yeah, Liam, we’re not sending our dirty laundry back to Earth. We even have a pretty cool bar down the street that we should check out later; music, dancing, plenty of hot, young chimeras!” Mason smirked at their eager expressions. “But, first, food!”

 

Mason set the plates down on the table and glanced at the clock on the wall. “Hmm, the engine install must have gone wrong, I was hoping Ryder would be home by the time dinner was ready.”

“It’s great though!” Liam muttered, stuffing his mouth with fries as Philip arched a brow. “Mmh, the meat is so juicy!”

“I swear, we have eaten before coming here.” The Manticore said politely, giving his boyfriend a sharp dig in the ribs. “Liam is just terrified that everything he’ll eat from now on will come from a tube!”

“I am not!”

“You two still haven’t changed.” Mason grinned at them both. He wetted his lips and prepared to speak. “But I have. Um, me and Ryder were going to do this together, but maybe it’s good enough to tell you first and he can fill in the details-”

“Oh my god! You’re getting married?!” Liam cried out, excitement filling his voice. “Aw, Mason, that’s-”

“Err, hang on,” The other chimera glared at his friend. “I mean, yeah, we’ll get married too, that’s kind of where this is going. Ryder and I have decided we’re not going to accept the Purple Serum. We want to start a family instead.”

“Awesome!” Liam stood up and moved around the table to pull Mason into a warm embrace. He released him so that Philip could repeat the action. “That’s so cool, you’d make a great father!”

“Thanks, it’s still early days yet, of course, but I wanted you and Philip to be the first to know.” Mason grinned at them, happiness flooding his body. “Just being a chimera extends our life-times anyway, so we’ll be around for a hundred years or so. I know you don’t want to say it, Liam, but it must be on your mind.”

“Hey, immortality isn’t for everyone.” Liam shared another look with Philip that Mason couldn’t interpret. But a moment later and the chimera was smiling at him again. “But it’s not gonna take that long for us to have our colony fully up and running and ready for visitors. You gotta promise me you guys will come out there.” 

“Preferably _before_ tiny feet start making sound on the, err, are these plastic floors?” Philip frowned and then laughed with them. “Well, anyway, we want to show you and Ryder a good time before you become all responsible!”

“Pretty sure I can convince him to go out to your planet,” Mason smirked. “I saw the briefing for it: great weather, warm seas, an abundance of marine life?”

“Well, the last part is speculative.” Liam shrugged. “The Emperor wants a research colony set up and a city to support it; we’re handling the civilian part of that, another chimera is already on the ground, organising the science end of things.”

“So, beach parties and dancing under the alien skies, huh?” Mason smiled wider. “Maybe if you get around to adding a Leviathan construction yard to the TRAPPIST-1 system, me, Ryder, and the kids can move out there permanently?”

“I like that idea.” Liam beamed. “I like it a lot!”

“Hmm, the Emperor might go for it too.” Philip added, finishing his steak. “The yards here are already backed up, I’m sure you’ve noticed that more than we have, Mason?”

“Oh yeah, every day now.”

“And we’ll need even more Leviathans to expand the Empire…” Philip paused on hearing the outer door unlock. “I think your boyfriend is home, Mason.”

“Ah, great!” He stood up, smiling at them, and called over his shoulder. “Honey! Liam and Philip are here!”

 

“We have a Hellhound, Stiles. It’s just you and Theo, you should give up!”

“Right, of course.” The Alpha Chimera shook his head and raised his hand. “Where are my manners? Chimeras, to me!” His eyes burned purple in the darkness, a hundred pairs of eyes echoing his light behind him as the chimera army uncloaked itself. “Having second thoughts? Do you like-”

“Cut!” The director’s voice screamed across the set and the actors sagged as the lights came up. “No, no, no, Cameron! I told you twice already that He didn’t say it like that!”

“That’s just in the history books, though.” The young actor looked in Greenberg’s direction. “Minister, you said we could interpret the script, if we wanted to.”

“Hmm, I have to agree with Oliver on this one.” Greenberg shook his head, walking over and placing a hand on the actor’s shoulder. He lowered his voice and steered them away from the set. “I was at the Battle of Beacon Hills, Cameron, and the Emperor definitely said that line with a sort of barely hidden menace rather than a jovial grin. Do you think you can try that? The Alpha Chimera has always enjoyed your representation of Him in previous films. I know that if He approves of this one, the studio will be green-lit to do an entire series of movies based on the Emperor and First Chimera’s rise to power.”

“Really? He actually watches them?”

“Yeah,” The Minister for Chimera Enlightenment smiled toothily. “The Emperor thinks you’re the perfect actor to play Him, to the extent that I’ll arrange a personal meeting between you two.”

“You’d do that?” Cameron stared at him in awe. “For real?”

“Of course, Cameron!” Greenberg gestured expansively. “Now, go back in there and finish up the speech scene, I’ve been able to secure a location that looks similar to Beacon Hills for the action sequences that you’ll be filming on for the next six weeks. Go on!” He waved the actor away and sighed once he was out of earshot. “Like herding cats…” Greenberg pushed open the door to the outside world, blinking in the sudden brightness. He shaded his eyes as a group of reporters surged over to him, swearing under his breath. “Oh, Emperor!”

“Minister?! What can you tell us about the new film?”

“Please direct your questions about _Rise of the Empire_ to the production company’s press officer who is taking a nap under that tree!” Greenberg smirked when half of the group moved away towards the unsuspecting chimera. “All other questions related to the launch of new Leviathans, settling of colony worlds, and associated Imperial operations will be answered during the daily press briefing at fifteen hundred. That is all.” He pressed through the crowd and walked briskly over to the parking lot. Greenberg nodded at his driver as the door to the SUV was pulled open. 

“Ahh…” The chimera sighed happily as he settled into the air-conditioned interior. Taking a flute of cold champagne from the minibar in the center of the vehicle, Greenberg sipped it slowly, enjoying the taste of the bubbles, even if the alcohol was immediately nullified by his enhanced healing ability. He was driven quickly through the streets of Victory City, coming down from the relocated studios of Hollywood towards the Imperial Palace. The chimera tapped the screen in front of him as they navigated the security checkpoints outside the curtain wall. “Hmm, I think three reporters in each colony ship should be enough; we’ll use the drones to get camera footage and with the new long range communication satellites we should be able to stream data live from even the furthest colonies.”

“We’re approaching the lacrosse fields now, Minister.” His driver called out to him as the harsh stone and metal surfaces of the outer edges of the Imperial Palace disappeared from view, replaced with gloriously green pitches and the familiar sight of a team dressed in padded armor being berated by Coach Finstock. 

“Excellent stuff! Drop me off, and come collect me around one,” Greenberg ordered, putting the crystal flute back in the cooler. He got out of the SUV as soon as it stopped and walked quickly onto the lacrosse field, grinning as Coach turned to him, red-faced and looking as though he was about to explode.

“What time do you call this, Greenberg?!”

“Sorry, Coach, won’t happen again.”

“It better not or you’ll be running laps until you puke your guts out!”

“Yes, Coach.” Greenberg nodded, sheepishly, the man’s aggressive tone washing over him. It was calming in a bizarre sort of way, but the chimera found it hard to relax any other way, and the Emperor was content to let Finstock live as long as the coach was restricted to lacrosse training. As he changed out of his business suit, Greenberg glanced at the man, idly wondering if he was happy, before shaking the thoughts from his mind, Finstock was too old for either chimera conversion or the Purple Serum, soon he would outlive his usefulness and the Empire would find someone new to take his place. It was unfortunate, but-

“Are you going to stand there all day, Greenberg?!”

“No, Coach! I’m in the game!” Greenberg shouted out, sprinting down the mid-field line as the other players took up their positions.

“You better be, we’re playing the Chimera Comets on Friday and I am not fielding you without a show of serious goddamn commitment!”

“You got it!” Greenberg nodded, and flicked the ball up the field. He was immensely proud at having managed to make lacrosse the Empire’s sport, a regular fantasy being the dedication of a colony world solely to lacrosse; stadiums and practice fields, equipment shops and craftsmen, monuments to the heroes of the sport all across the planet! He could hear the roar of the crowd, the beating of drums and fluttering of flags as adoring fans called out his name and- 

“What are you daydreaming about, Greenberg?!” Coach’s scream brought him back to Earth. “Pass the damn ball!”

“Yes, Coach!”

 

 _Marric: Hero of the Empire!_ The chimera didn’t much care for the title or the honor, that was more Connor’s thing. He paused, smirking to himself as he pictured his boyfriend’s expression of quiet anger for such a remark. “No, you don’t like them much either, but you seem to collect titles like I collect problems.” Marric muttered to himself as he frowned at the reports of the unfolding disaster over Moonbase Alpha. “We’ve installed antimatter engines dozens of times before, how are they having problems now?” He shook his head and made a note to send a representative of his team over to the primary Leviathan construction yard.

Marric turned away and left his tablet on the nearby desk, returning to stare out the window at the vastness of space. “Hmm, I shouldn’t complain too much, the honor of the Emperor’s favor has landed me an apartment in the Imperial Palace a floor under the Emperor and you, Guardian Prime. Still keeping me at arm’s length, still afraid that Theo might make an aggressive move against me.” He shook his head in confusion. “Pretty sure the guy is over you by now, though maybe that’s just the appearance he maintains on the outside. Theo is hard to get a read on, even when he’s covered in heretical blood from one of your strike missions. I don’t know, maybe- oh, fuck!” Marric growled suddenly and grabbed the microphone on the desk below him. “ _Emperor’s Vision!_ Pull up forty degrees or you’ll take the bottom off your armor plating. Adjust to this vector and follow the guide lights into the space dock.” He typed quickly, watching as the approaching Leviathan followed his directions.

“Mars Orbital Approach Dock, this is the captain of the _Emperor’s Vision,_ we are holding on our intercept trajectory. We will be at docking range in three minutes.”

“Acknowledged.” Marric replied, brow furrowed as he turned the mic off. “Since when did Leviathans need captains? They’re perfectly sentient creatures, a mix of chimera biology and advanced technology maybe, but they’re capable of getting us through space just fine.” 

“We have a high-priority chimera official on-board, wishing to speak to you at once, Marric.” The speaker buzzed and hissed again, feedback making Marric wince as he flicked the mic on again.

“Acknowledged. Proceeded to the space dock and I’ll meet them there.” He turned away from the magnificent sight of the massive chimera gliding slowly into the holding area, hearing the release of the docking clamps and large metal plates extending to reduce the strain on the Leviathan’s heavier lower super-structure. Marric strode along empty hallways, not taking his eyes off the huge chimera, visible from every angle through the glass walls of the walkway. A number of long skybridges pushed forward, locking into the entrance ports of the Leviathan hide with a loud metallic thunk on their side and a cloud of escaping gas on the chimera’s side.

Marric stood in front of the sealed doorway and glanced around at the large and otherwise completely vacant arrivals hall. While there were settlements on Mars itself, the Orbital Approach Dock had only just been finished and was being prepared for its transformation into another Leviathan construction facility. The chimera hummed to himself, going over new designs for the bio-ships that constantly sparked in his mind. “Well, I guess we could add those additional systems like Connor wanted, but I’ll have to put in more cooling for the particle accelerator, maybe expose sections of it to the vacuum of space? No, that won’t work, I’d have to re-order the armor plating and-”

“Do you always talk to yourself?”

“Huh?” Marric turned around, seeing a bright-eyed chimera standing in front of the open blast door, his cute face tilted at him. “Oh, only when I think no one else is going to hear me. I’m Marric.”

“Yeah, I know. Nolan.” The chimera replied with a grin, pointing at himself. “I think you’d have to be living, err, pretty much in space not to know who you are and what you’ve achieved for the Empire.” Nolan looked around and gestured at the arrivals lounge.

“Yeah, I suppose.” Marric accepted the offered sheet of paper, recognizing Corey’s signature at the bottom. “Ah, the Minister for Chimera Intelligence sent you?”

“That’s right. I understand your team are already set up for construction of the dockyards?”

“Getting there, we’ve had some missing shipments of late.” Marric scowled at the nearest dome some five miles from the Orbital Approach Dock. “I’m thinking that habitat down there would be a good place to start; population is sixty-forty humans and while they claim allegiance to the chimera religion, I would not consider them to be actual Faithful.”

“If they are heretics, maybe I should call the Guardian Prime and First Chimera instead?” Nolan asked, slowing to a stop next to him as they reached the middle of the station. “As far as I’m aware, they have yet to spill the blood of any colonists!”

“Do what you feel is necessary,” Marric shrugged. “My orders are to return to Victory City once _Emperor’s Vision_ has been unloaded. There are detailed plans in the control tower’s mainframe for what the space dock and construction facilities are to look like. I’ll be back up here in the morning to answer any questions you might have, Nolan.”

“Thanks, I’ll take the evening to get settled in.” The assassin nodded before grinning suddenly at him. “Never thought your daily commute would be between Earth and Mars, huh?!”

“Hmm, in the future yet to come, it will be like crossing the street to go to the store,” Marric said, turning away from him. “Such will be the breadth of our Empire and the power of our technology!”

 

He stood in the middle of the bridge, the captain from earlier giving him a nervous look every few minutes. But Marric didn’t care, smiling instead as he felt the Leviathan accelerate out of the space dock. The entire super-structure shuddered violently for ten seconds as the antimatter engine kicked in and the chimera boosted up to the top speed of the older models, a mere seventy million miles per hour. It would take him an hour to get back to Earth, with a quarter of that time spent slowing down so they didn’t smash into the planet. 

Marric walked around the bridge, looking over the shoulders of chimeras monitoring the antimatter engines, the particle accelerator, the condition of the diamond enhanced hull, and the magnetic fields which held the gathered fuel antiparticles. He nodded from time to time and often leaned over to point out a mistake, the operator blushing and hurrying to fix it.

“We have been operating this Leviathan for nearly two years, Marric.” The captain finally spoke, calling out over the roar of the engine several miles behind them. “There have been no-”

“You do not _operate_ a Leviathan,” Marric cut across him. “It is a living ship; its blood is infused with antimatter and used to propel us forward, its outer hull is extremely hard, protecting us from the dangers of the cosmos, the fact that you think it requires your aid to steer it in the right direction is insulting. There is a living mind inside this vast, organic machine! Deep in the Leviathan’s core is a chimera volunteer who serves the Empire still.”

“I meant no disrespect.”

“Sure, but you still showed it.” He tilted his head, nostrils flaring. “You are a converted werewolf, hopefully not from the traitor’s recruits. But perhaps that is why you do not understand the glory that we have created here! This is no mere mashup of biology and machinery! The Leviathan’s core DNA comes from the genetic manipulation of the massive Guardian of the Ancient World and the Tardigrade. That’s a micro-animal capable of surviving extremes of temperature and the vacuum of space. Combine those elements with chimera research and the limitless power of the Overmind and behold the greatest chimera to be ever made!”

“I bow to your superior knowledge, master.” The captain slunk back and averted his eyes.

Marric grunted and looked up, seeing Earth being projected onto the bank of monitors that made up the front of the bridge. They were located just behind the enormous brain of the Leviathan, seeing through its eyes as they approached the planet. “We’re nearly there; prepare for alignment with the Victory City space dock.”

 

“You know, I was beginning to wonder if you were coming home tonight!” Connor grinned at him when Marric exited the skybridge and embraced him. “Trouble among the stars?”

“Across the system.” Marric sighed, standing back from Connor as they walked towards the nearby space elevator, the familiar protective circle of Ancient chimeras surrounding them and keeping Connor’s many fans from mobbing him. “Moonbase Alpha nearly had a critical fault in their antimatter assembly, and the construction site on Mars is prone to looters, ugh, it’s awful!”

“Well, you’re home now, almost.”

“Plans this evening?” Marric asked hopefully, stepping inside the capsule. 

“The Emperor and First Chimera are having dinner with the Minister for Chimera Intelligence.” Connor replied, turning to gaze out the window as they began their rapid descent back to Earth. “I’ve been asked to join them, so yes, another late night. But it sounds as though that’s what you’d like?”

“Uh, no, I mean, there’s some designs I’d like to sketch out, but I still want to spend time with you.” Marric replied, meeting the armored chimera’s intense purple gaze.

“I’ll be back later, don’t worry.” Connor placed his arm around Marric’s shoulder for a minute before the capsule slowed down and opened in the fortress named after the Guardian Prime. He stepped out first and gestured for Marric to follow. “You know our arrangement, the needs of the Emperor always come first.”

“Of course, Connor.” Marric nodded towards the nearby trains. “I’ll see you at the Palace.”

 

Scott stared up at the flickering florescent bulb over his narrow bed. The light was the closest thing to the sun he was ever going to see again. But he wasn’t upset at that, exactly, having come to terms with the nature of his life imprisonment. The chimera sighed to himself as the bulb glimmered one final time before going out, leaving him in the murky darkness of the small sleeping chamber, only the dull light from The Crag’s array of underwater luminescence seeping through the tiny, reinforced window opposite his bed. Scott got up and fumbled his way to the door, night-vision hobbled by a lack of use. Not that he needed to; the facility was usually well-lit and relatively airy for a deep-sea lab tens of thousand of feet underwater. 

The former Alpha opened his door and nodded at the two scientists going the opposite direction from him. They smiled politely and then continued their discussion of the latest Leviathan pressure tests. He didn’t recognize them, but then the facility was always changing staff from section to section, the only constant being his presence and that of the two shark chimeras that had brought him to The Crag after his disastrous attack against Stiles in Victory City. Images of that day still haunted Scott; the death of his werewolf allies, the terrifying sight of the blood-splattered Guardian Prime bearing down on him, the lead weight that dropped through his stomach when Scott learned of the nuclear weapon unleashed in his name…

“No, stop thinking about that.” Scott muttered to himself, shaking his head as he entered the supply room. He grabbed a bulb and made to return to his quarters, but the open door from the entrance to the moon pool caught his eye. “Hmm, I didn’t know they were doing diving exercises today.” Scott pushed open the door and stepped inside the outer chamber, waiting for it to seal and pressurize accordingly. He slipped the bulb into his jacket pocket for safe keeping and passed through into the diving chamber when the light went green and inner door opened on creaking hinges. 

Scott glanced around, seeing recently used wetsuits lying on the metal floor and a set of footprints leading into the shower area. “Ah, maybe it was a blown converter from that swell last week; overloading the lights and forcing them out to fix it. Brrr!” He shivered and ran his hands over his arms in reaction to looking at the dark water lapping at the edges of the moon pool. This had been where he had been brought in from the surface, the shark chimeras escorting him had stripped off his wetsuit, undid the manacles that weighed him down, and pushed his freezing body to the edge of the water. “They said I was free and free to leave at any time through the only door in the facility that led to the surface.” Scott gave a short laugh. “Nothing but an open invitation to jump into the freezing water and kill myself.”

He shrugged, the invitation hadn’t been tempting at the time and the chimeras pulled him into the showers to get warmed up. It seemed that Stiles wanted to keep his existence a secret, but not let him simply rot in an underwater prison. Scott had joined the research teams, doing modest tasks such as typing up results and taking notes for the scientists. It was almost like a real job, even if he knew that the work they were doing was providing support for the larger research lab across the canyon that developed different variants of the Leviathan class chimeras. The first time Scott had seen the massive creatures moving through the oceans under their own propulsion he had been left speechless along with his colleagues. But as the surprise faded, he realized that Stiles must have been planning for such an eventuality all along, that the resurrection of his former best friend was a speed bump compared to the ambition of the Emperor who wanted to rule the stars.

Scott stepped away from the moon pool and looked over at the wetsuit rack, reading the name tags to see if any of his not-quite-friends were in the shower compartment and up for some relief from the boredom of post-test number crunching. The chimeras here didn’t seem to know who he truly was, the legend of the “traitor chimera” not matching up to Scott’s quiet determination and mild-mannered ways. He always kept away from dangerous subjects with the other chimeras and plied his charm on the few young women that rotated in and out of the Crag, managing to get his dick sucked a few times and bury himself in the ones who wanted more than a mutual return from his mouth. 

But the brief moments of lust and pleasure always faded as fast as they had ignited, leaving Scott with the knowledge of what had happened in Victory City. He had let his emotions cloud his judgement worse than before, in Beacon Hills, when he knew Stiles had killed Kira’s parents and did nothing to stop the Alpha Chimera. Now, however, Scott felt he was as bad as Stiles; hell-bent on revenge, he had allowed the radical elements of the rebellion to unleash death and destruction on thousands of innocent people. “Maybe today I’ll find the courage.” Scott whispered, staring at the moon pool, contemplating the strength it would take for him to lift his foot and step forward into the icy water.

The shower compartment door opened with a hiss and Scott glanced over his shoulder, not recognizing the naked woman who walked out. He was about to look away when her skin shimmered and gleamed with translucent scales, hiding her body from him, only the long brown hair and her face exposed. “Uh, hi.”

“Hello, don’t mind me.” She smiled at him, her voice thick and rich. “I didn’t think anyone would be here, but that water is so cold I just had to shower!”

“Yeah, maybe I can help you warm up?” Scott offered a grin, anything to distract himself from thoughts of stepping into his death. “What’s your name? I’m-”

“Oh, I know who you are,” She grinned wider, gesturing with barely visibly hands. “All the girls who come from here tell stories of the chimera with yellow eyes never touched by the Emperor’s grace, but whose cock is thick and vigorous and _so_ eager to please!”

“Haha, yeah, I guess I have that reputation.” Scott smirked and turned away nonchalantly. He was about to look over his shoulder and give the chimera the look that seemed to make all the women sleep with him when a sudden sharp pain ripped through his chest. “Argh!” Scott looked down in horror at the sharp claws coated in his blood. His vision went blurry a second later, senses fading as he collapsed, and the naked woman crouched next to him. “This is it?”

“That’s right,” The assassin watched him shudder and gasp for air, leaning in to whisper into his ear. “The First Chimera sends his regards!” 

“Theo…always knew he would…find out.” Scott muttered, feeling his life slipping between his fingers. “Ugh.”

 

Stiles leaned on the balustrade of the balcony overlooking the grand plaza of the Imperial Palace as the sun began to set in a blaze of red and oranges in the far distance. A smile played about his lips as he let himself indulge in a private fantasy that he had thought about for years at this stage. It could never have come true, of course, Scott was unable to see the glory of his galaxy-spanning vision, but Stiles still liked to stand out here and imagine Scott was next to him, not as a lover or a servant, but as a friend, his best friend perhaps. They would laugh and talk and remember the old days, seeing everything through rose-hued glasses as they planned for the next glory of the Empire. 

“Ah…” Stiles sighed, sensing Theo’s presence behind him. The Emperor dismissed his daydream and turned, nodding at Connor to follow them. “Theo, everything alright?”

“Perfect, Stiles.” The First Chimera grinned as he slipped his phone into his pocket, scent humming with happiness. “Are we meeting Corey there, Connor?”

“That’s correct.” The Guardian Prime nodded, following them down the throne room with a regal gait all of his own. “Apparently, Growler made a lady friend this past week and Corey’s been trying to find a vet, so he’s not inundated with puppies in a few weeks’ time!”

“Haha!” Stiles laughed along with Theo, thoughts of his former best friend vanishing to the ether. “I’m not sure we could cope with the cuteness overload that would be Corey and endless puppies!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apologies for the late chapter, guys, I had an allergic reaction on Saturday, so I lost a day of writing to that. I can’t promise that next week’s chapter will be as long as these last two, since it’ll focus on Stiles, Theo, Corey, and Connor, but it’ll have a lot more detail and interaction for these characters. I really wanted to show how the other characters’ lives panned out after the main events of the story and give some insight into the drastically changed story world. In the future, I’d like to come back and explore some of these characters in more depth in their own spin-off stories, but that won’t be for a long time. 
> 
> On a technological note, the antimatter engine is a potential form of interstellar travel for humans in the future, though not in our reach just yet. The star systems named throughout are legitimate, while the distances and travel times mentioned are based on some simple calculations, I am by no means going for complete realism here, guys :P
> 
> Thanks for your patience and I hope you enjoyed this chapter.


	15. Cities in the Stars

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The following chapter contains explicit sexual content, including rimming and unprotected anal sex. While it is unmentioned during the sequence, please assume that deep cleaning occurred, and everything is perfectly safe down there for the rimming part. In real life, assume nothing and always be safe!

“A thousand years have passed since the Battle of Beacon Hills and our glorious Galactic Chimera Empire stretches across hundreds of worlds and dozens of systems. Our might remains unopposed and our forces are ever ready to strike down those who try…” Connor trailed off, sighing. “I’m not sure I like this speech, it makes it sound as though we are still at war and nothing could be further from the truth.”

“Sure, but the people enjoy hearing their leaders talk about the physical representation of the Empire’s strength.” Commander Parrish answered, standing below him at the foot of the dais. “And on this date in particular, it would be important to remind everyone that the peace we’ve taken for granted could be easily shattered.”

“The humans are a dead race,” Connor dismissed his concerns with a wave. “Chimeras rule the galaxy now, and we always remain loyal to the Emperor, there is no other answer to that question.”

“Then why the hesitation?”

“It just seems very heavy-handed,” The Guardian Prime turned away from the long window above the platform and looked down the length of the throne-room, unchanged in centuries. “And that was fine when we had to get the Faithful riled up for attacking into a group of Kitsunes or charging across the battlefield at monsters like the Ghost Riders or the Harvester. Not anymore, Parrish.” He walked slowly down the steps, the Ancient chimeras rising and flowing around him as though he was a rock in the river. Connor gestured for the Hellhound to join him and together they moved across the hall. “This is a speech that is to remind the Empire of the three tenets that hold us altogether and go beyond the purple-eyed certainty of the Overmind.”

“I know.” Commander Parrish nodded, following Connor into the antechamber as they exited the throne-room. “Unity. Loyalty. Sacrifice. But when was the last time anyone had to prove them? We live in an enlightened time, Connor, the crime rate is literally zero, my officers act more as a ceremonial tradition than actual law enforcement.”

“Hmm, perhaps you would prefer an assignment on the outer colonies then?” Connor smirked as Parrish scowled. “Well, I’m told that they seem to get more lawless the further you out go.”

“That’s only because the thousand or so humans that are left cause all the trouble!”

“Haha,” The Guardian Prime laughed softly and turned left, taking them away from the plaza at the front of the Palace, already beginning to fill with chimeras. “I see that news spreads fast.”

“Faster than Greenberg it seems.” 

“The Emperor and First Chimera are coming home, to the place where it all began,” Connor explained, climbing another set of stairs, leading out onto the ramparts. “Along with the Minister for Chimera Intelligence, of course. They will come from across the Home Systems to see Him in person.”

“How long has it been?” Parrish frowned, looking at his hands. “Two hundred years? Three?”

“Three and a half, I think.” Connor replied, nodding. “Since He has stepped on the homeworld, but only a few months since I last spoke to Him in person.”

“That’s still seems like a long time for you.”

The Guardian Prime didn’t respond, instead moving faster as they reached the top of the defensive fortifications. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes as the smell of the sea air merged with the dust from the training yards behind him and the sweet scents of the bakeries near the Palace gates. When he flicked them open again, Parrish was bowing in his direction and turning away, sensing his own dismissal. The silent Ancient chimeras still accompanied him as Connor walked across the ramparts to where he could have the best view of the sprawling expanse that was Victory City.

The capital of the homeworld of the Chimera Empire had been fashioned into everything Connor had wanted it to be; a glittering jewel of towering skyscrapers and glorious monuments to the heroes of the Empire. The city was among the largest in existence, stretching for thousands of miles across at its widest part, suburbs in the old American Midwest, research centers and labs standing on secure foundations in the Pacific Ocean nearly two hundred miles off the coast. The Path of Legends still stood as a monument to the glory of the Empire, its many empty plinths getting fewer and fewer each year as new heroes rose in the colony worlds, reaching galactic fame in the process. Connor glanced at the tall spire rising from the Cathedral of Unity, the building enduring as it had always done, never needing repair or rebuilding, a baroque example of the devotion to the chimera religion and the God-Emperor.

“Let’s go, they’ll be here within the next two hours and I want everyone gathered to greet them at the landing pad.” Connor turned away from the city and gestured instead at the massive concrete and steel structure behind the Imperial Palace. Its white walls rose up to almost half the height of the ziggurat, spacecraft taking off and landing in a constant stream of activity. “Make sure the Secondary Orbital Approach Dock is cleared, will you? I don’t want anyone up there but the welcome wagon and designated members of the Imperial Council.” He waited until the Ancient chimeras bowed at him silently and left Connor alone on the battlements. The Guardian Prime smiled to himself, glad for the solitude, and began making his way across the grounds of the Imperial Palace.

 _I’m still not sure if it was the right decision to place that dock so close to the Palace, it’s easy access, sure, but the noise is getting somewhat out of hand…_ Connor frowned at the thoughts and ran an irritated hand through his short hair. “Really? Noise complaints? I _almost_ wish there was a war to focus on, or some heretics to put down. This infinite peace is boring!” He trudged on, acknowledging the straightened posture of the Unified City Guardsmen as he passed through a doorway into a long tunnel that would take him to the landing pads. _I’m beginning to understand the appeal of Theo’s “Battle-World: Werewolf!” Chimeras were made to fight wars, to kill and die for the glory of our master, not sit around on endless committees and hold public debates on the next phase of a city-building project!_

“Guardian Prime?”

The voice shook Connor out of his thoughts and he glanced up at the youthful looking chimera in front of him. “What?”

“Uh, nothing exactly, just, um, could you move? There are others in line.” The chimera stammered, shrinking back as Connor’s eyes flashed red. “Please?”

“Sorry, of course.” Connor muttered, blinking and glancing over his shoulder. He turned back to the gatekeeper and moved out of the way. “This is the last transport to leave, the Emperor and First Chimera will be arriving shortly, it will be better for them to at least get out of the planetary landing craft before being mobbed.”

“It will be done, Guardian Prime.”

“Good.”

 

Connor walked through the vast transit hub, looking around the porcelain-white halls and starkly contrasting black pillars. The planetary landing craft were visible beyond him, out the long, thick windows, the vehicles standing on hundreds of numbered aprons in the central square as the shining, bright walls of the facility rose around the edges. He passed into another tunnel, this one shorter and less crowded, emerging on the other side into the hot and fume-laced air of the port. Connor watched as the small bio-ships powered up their antimatter engines, the technology considered almost obsolete by modern standards, serviceable only for transporting chimeras between the planets, space stations, and gargantuan Leviathans that crossed the Empire every day. 

The Guardian Prime smiled lightly to himself as the nearest transport’s engine turned from a steady whine into a roaring howl, purple fire spitting out the exhaust ports. The bio-ship lifted into the air with a graceful elegance, turning like a fish in the water and gliding upwards. “Easy to forget that they’re chimeras too.” He whispered to himself, the words lost amid the noise from the other landing craft. Connor strolled through the center of the square, watching the departing and arriving chimeras with a detached interest, seeing families get reunited, tourists arriving for the celebrations, and the children of wealthy chimeras having come to get their abilities unlocked on the capital world-an extravagant gesture if ever there was one. He shook his head slightly and came to a stop in the middle of the landing pads, looking up at the large marble statue that dominated the space. The flowing silver script around the base was still as bright as the day Connor had dedicated it.

He sighed heavily, eyes searching Marric’s youthful face, forever locked in an expression of hopeful joy. The representation of the chimera had him standing aloft on the back of a stylized Leviathan, an atomic representation of antimatter in one hand, while the other was flung upwards, as though reaching for the stars. Connor stretched out and ran his fingers across the smooth stone. _It’s been three hundred years, if you were going to be found, we would have done so by now. “One last leap into the unknown!” You said. I should never have let you lead the expedition yourself; the most scientifically important chimera in the Empire, what was I thinking?!_ The Guardian Prime berated himself, shaking his head at the statue. _The Leviathan went missing, and you had stores of the Purple Serum on board, you could still be…no._

“Apologies, Guardian Prime,” A chimera stopped behind him. “But the Minister for Chimera Intelligence and his retinue will be arriving in forty minutes, I’m told that they are about to depart Haros Prime now.”

“Good.” Connor turned to face him, his expression tightening as he released the emotion that threatened to undo him. “Clear the landing zone and ensure the Imperial Council are here when the Minister arrives.”

 

Corey settled into his seat, gazing out the window at the bright blue glow from the planet beneath him. Here in the space between atmosphere and the void, he could see the intensity better than anywhere else, constantly reminding him that while the chimeras might be a galaxy-faring race, they still had so much to learn. His musings were interrupted when Nolan sat down next to him, offering Corey a bag of candy. “Err, no. And you should cut back on it too!”

“This is our greatest export!” Nolan protested, grabbing a handful of the multi-coloured orbs and shovelling them into his mouth. “Well, aside from assassinations, but we don’t do that very much anymore, so I gotta support our local industries somehow.”

“What? By being their biggest consumer by tonnage? Ow!” Corey glared at the other chimera when Nolan hit his arm. “You’re going to have to stop doing that around Connor, you know?”

“Eating candy?”

“No! Punching me!” 

“Why?” Nolan frowned and then flushed as he met Corey’s eyes. “I mean, I’m just messing with you, you know that, right?”

“Yeah, but the Guardians are different from regular chimeras. I’m not saying he’d rip you limb from limb, but he would _not_ be happy and he’d ensure you knew.”

“Ugh, fine!” Nolan released an exaggerated groan but smirked impishly at Corey. “So, how long is this voyage going to take us? Do we have time for-”

“No, we do not.” Garrett sat next to Nolan and shook his head. “Just talked to the navigator, this is one of the three newest Leviathans, as you might have noticed from the luxurious appointment of our cabin.”

“Yeah, it feels a lot more like Chimera Force One did before it was decommissioned.” Corey nodded. “So, this Leviathan is a cruise liner?”

“Hmm, kinda.” The Löwenmensch shrugged. “But think more like the ships back on Earth instead of the lust boats of Brett-9”

“Still can’t believe that guy named the system after himself.” Nolan muttered. “He must really be close to the Emperor, the only other Archon who tried that got invaded by the Guardian Prime for trying to usurp the Alpha Chimera.”

“Yeah, they’re still close after all this time.” Corey shrugged, looking out the window again as the Leviathan began to move, turning away from Haros Prime and out towards clear space. “So, Garrett, how come we won’t have time for a little pleasure to pass the trip? The last time I made the voyage back to Earth, it took a day and a half.”

“Yeah, but that was twenty years ago, and you only went to Mars.” Garrett replied. “And as I recall, we were on the Model-9 Leviathans. This one is an ISE Model-3 Leviathan, fastest in the fleet.”

“ISE?”

“Induced Singularity Engine.” Nolan mumbled, finishing off the candy. “I heard about it last week when I was checking out the dockyards on Ergo. Apparently, it was Marric’s last great innovation before he and the test Leviathan went missing. They’ve only just been able to replicate the technology from his notes and models. Very powerful, very fast, but thankfully, no longer as dangerous.”

“Singularity?” Corey hummed to himself as he felt compression grip his head for a few seconds, the tell-tale sensation of the Leviathan beginning its transition to acceleration speed. “Does that mean black holes?”

“That’s right.” The Löwenmensch nodded, meeting Corey’s eyes. “Marric figured out a way to harness the energy that causes black holes to form and replicated it in controlled settings. I’m not sure where, maybe one of the dead planets in the outer regions where no one would get upset if he accidentally created a black hole.”

“And that powers the Leviathan? Wow!” Corey grinned, flicking his thumb across a switch on the armrest of his chair. He looked at the holographic display in front of them and frowned as the plotted route to Earth appeared. “Forty minutes? How is that accurate?”

“Mysteries of the Leviathan.” Nolan answered with a shrug. “Maybe it’s better not to know? We’re travelling two thousand light-years in the time it used to take me to snooze through World History, that’s kinda terrifying.”

“Right.” Corey shivered and looked at the door as he heard the sound of paws running on the floor outside their cabin. “Garrett, can you let Growler in, please?”

“Sure.” He got up and opened the door, stepping aside when the dog entered, tail wagging. “Good boy, go sit next to Corey!”

Corey smiled as the dog laid down obediently at his side, patting the wide, smooth head. “Looking good for his age, huh?”

“I suppose.” 

“He’s almost a thousand too, or seven thousand in dog-years!”

“What? I thought you kept cloning him or something!” Nolan frowned at him. “I didn’t think the Purple Serum worked on animals? Or anything that wasn’t a chimera?”

“This is a different variant.” Corey explained. “Theo made it for me, and then he expanded it, so Connor could use it to stop the extinction of the animals on Earth. It’s the same as ours in that it needs to be reapplied every two hundred years, but by that stage, most of the life on Earth had recovered, so it’s mainly produced to order whenever Growler reaches his limit.”

“Haha,” Garrett laughed good-naturedly at Corey and nodded at the map in front of them. “We’re about to start slowing down, guys, maybe get some rest before we arrive? I doubt there will be a lot of time for just lounging around the Imperial Palace.”

“We’ll see about that!” Corey winked at them suggestively.

 

The Chimera Emperor smirked as he gazed out across the rows of bowed heads and quietly whirring computers that made up the bulk of the command deck of the _Seat of the Emperor._ The massive space station was moving out of position near the vast construction yards of the yet unnamed planet at the edge of chimera controlled territory and turning back towards Earth, some twenty thousand light-years away. “What’s our ETA?”

“It will take six hours to travel across the Empire, master.” Guardian Ryan was standing next to him, his smooth voice attempting to be calming, but Stiles never felt relaxed around the chimera. He missed having Connor by his side, a situation that would soon be resolved.

“I didn’t ask how long, I asked when would we arrive?” 

“Sorry, uh, a little after three pm Galactic Standard Time.”

“Fine.” Stiles turned away and walked slowly towards the long, hardened windows at the front of the station, the sharpened prow of the vessel visible below him. He gazed out at the stars slipping by as thoughts raced through his mind. _Six hours? I know we’ve come so far in so short a time, but how I wish for everything to be complete in an instant! Return me to Victory City in the blink of an eye! Return Connor to my side instead of this lingering chimera!_ He glanced over his shoulder at Ryan and shrugged. _I suppose he’s serviceable enough and it’s not like there are any actual threats. Making Connor the Supreme Archon was a reward worthy of his service, and yet, I long to have him and Theo back with me again._ “And so it will be.” Stiles muttered quietly.

He could feel the space station begin to pick up speed as the chimeras around him entered complex calculations and awakened the Leviathan in the bowels of the structure. The newly installed ISE was miles beneath his feet and ready to be engaged, they were simply awaiting his command to begin. “Course?”

“Locked in, Emperor.”

“Leviathan?”

“Ready to ignite propulsion, Emperor.”

“Very good, issue alert to all stations, prepare for galactic transit.” Stiles nodded at the deck officer and climbed into the large throne at the center of the command center, turning it slowly so he could face the windows and watch their journey across the stars. “Fire the ISE when ready and bring us home.”

“As You command, Emperor.”

Stiles smiled slightly as he felt the force of their sudden acceleration push him back into the throne and the stars in front of them seemed to hang on the air for a moment, before being pulled into long spears of light zipping past the space station. The howl of the engines was dampened by the distance from their roaring coils and the heavy blast doors sealing the command deck off from the rest of the station. He glanced around at the bridge crew, nodding as they paid the light show outside no attention, their focus was on the status of the ISE, the Leviathan, and countless other tasks and systems they had to monitor. 

It was at times like this that Stiles missed having the Inner Pack around him, missing having Theo one side and Corey on the other, the ever-reassuring presence of Connor at his back. But they were Archons now in their own right, each controlling a swath of systems and planets, each seeming to follow along a different path towards the same unified goal: the glory of the Galactic Chimera Empire! 

The Alpha Chimera grinned at the words as they resounded in his mind, rolling off his metaphorical tongue and summoning images of the variety of different planets they had settled upon over the centuries. Jungle worlds with vast, thick foliage unseen on Earth and rustling with alien life. Desert planets where the sun had long since scorched even the hardiest survivor away came under their control as earth Elemental chimeras carved massive structures into the ground to provide shade and extract valuable minerals from the virgin soil. 

They had marvelled at worlds of endless oceans, not always of water, where only the truly brave called home; living as they did on the floating marvels of End Dark or Alpha Station or even the sunken city of Deepest Reach, miles beneath the surface. Alexis, the Kraken, had made her home on one such world, claiming the rich seas and abundant, if primitive, native life for herself. Stiles settled back into the throne and rested his chin on his fist, “A thousand years of Empire and we’ve gone so much farther than I ever thought we would. And I’m finally close to delivering on a promise made equally as long ago.”

 

Theo ducked when a salvo of artillery roared overhead, exploding with a massive crump behind him. He winced as chimeras screamed and died, turning back to leap out of the trench and charge across the battlefield, his own forces joining him in long streams from the other positions. “Over there! They’re trying to flank us!” Theo called out to his officers, gesturing for them to reinforce the left flank. There was a howl and accompanying roar as they breached the enemy’s fortifications; a terrakinetic chimera sending tidal waves of rock spikes into the walls. “Attack now!” Theo screamed, diving into the gap ahead of the others. "Rawrr!"

The sky overhead was a cracked black and bruised yellow, thunder rolling through the clouds from the charged particles in the air, lightning strikes being called down across the battlefield. Theo rolled out of the way of a large clawed fist as the monster punched through an earthen wall. He bounced up, smirking as he wiped blood from his healing nose onto the back of his hand. “Not bad. But do you really think you can take me on?”

“Rawr!” The werewolf snarled at him, red eyes burning in the haze of combat, claws raised above the creature’s head about to strike.

“ _Gameplay Paused._ ”

“Fuck!” Theo snarled as the area around him was covered with shimmering barriers which solidified into an opaque screen, hiding him from the rest of the players. The werewolf he was about to fight just grunted and looked around, charging in the opposite when it detected a new enemy nearby. “What the hell, guys?”

“Apologies, First Chimera.” 

“Don’t apologize, Harold, just tell me what’s going on!” Theo glared at the flickering hologram in front of him, projected onto the white walls of the box. “It was just getting to the good part.”

“While I’m sure the development team will be happy to hear that, First Chimera, the Emperor expects your presence on Earth in three hours.” Harold explained, typing something that Theo couldn’t see. The wall nearest the earth embankment vanished and one of the emergency escape doors was revealed. “There’ll be a change of clothing for you on _Glory of the Chimeras_ and you can shower there too, Archon.”

“Very well.” Theo sighed and stepped into the metal tube, watching the opaque walls vanish as the door of the hatch sealed shut. He was whisked down into the depths of the facility, stepping out onto a grey platform. The chimera gripped the railing as the disc lifted into the air and rapidly brought him through a series of uniform tunnels, eventually emerging into a bright and airy atrium. The Orbital Approach Dock was just visible from his position as he stepped off the platform, thunder clouds obscuring it from view a moment later. Theo walked quickly into the departures lounge, meeting Harold along the way. “That was really fucking good, I have to say! Dr Kadar outdid himself with the werewolves, you’d almost think they were the real thing!”

“He’ll be glad to know that.” The chimera answered and swiped open a door leading to Theo’s private landing craft. “The engines are already spun up and the Leviathan will begin travelling once you get on board. Latest communication reports say that the Emperor is half way across the Empire now, if you leave at once, you’ll be able to meet Him at the Orbital Dock on Earth.”

“Great, don’t break anything while I’m gone!” Theo smirked at his assistant, eyes glowing red as the chimera nodded hurriedly, the scent of his fear lacing the air. “Mmh, good!” The First Chimera gestured impatiently at the nearby engineers, waiting for the landing craft’s doors to be pulled open. He entered the cramped interior and sat down, knowing that he would soon be on board his personal Leviathan with every possible comfort in reach. “Let’s go already!”

“Yes, First Chimera.” The pilot acknowledged and entered the launch sequence, the aircraft gliding silently upwards into the air with no apparent effort. “Time to docking: three minutes.”

“Humph.” Theo grunted, looking out the single window as they lifted away from the apron. The launch facility was cleverly camouflaged to look like just another part of the landscape of the vast jungle planet. He smiled as they passed high over the massive, sprawling battlefield that occupied nearly forty percent of the world’s land mass. It was divided by a giant scar of brown and black running down the middle, marking out the territories held by the “Chimera Alliance of Earth” and the “Federation of Werewolf States”, the two nations he had designed to be locked in everlasting combat. Theo reached forward and tapped a button to unmute the TV screen in front of him, grinning when he heard his own voice.

_“Fed up of farming and growing minerals? Do you want a taste of the old world before the Empire rose? Or do you want to relive the glory days of the War of Planetary Conquest? Then come to Battle-World: Werewolf! Here, you can enjoy a live gameplay experience unlike any other as you take to field of battle as any number of chimera military units from the daring Osprey pilots to front line melee ambushers! Fight alongside legends of the Empire, including me, the First Chimera! And thrill at the combat simulation of the galaxy, where the werewolves look real, feel real, and hit real! Battle-World: Werewolf, reality as it should be!”_

“Haha, sounds better every time!” Theo smirked and read the fading words aloud. “Coming this Fall, Battle-World: Ghost Storm! Ooh, that must be the Ghost Rider DLC, I thought Dr Kadar hadn’t finished that…”

“Docking now, First Chimera.” The pilot called out. There was a dull clunk as the landing gears descended and they made contact with the surface of the Leviathan’s hanger deck. The organic plates of armor closed over the hanger doors behind them and secured the massive chimera for launch. “Enjoy your trip, Supreme Archon.”

“Yeah, uh huh.” Theo dismissed the pilot’s words and climbed out, walking quickly across the shiny floor and into a long, sloping hallway. His private quarters were halfway between the command deck and the hanger, but Theo didn’t want to have to wait for a tram to arrive, the vehicles travelling once every half hour from one end of the Leviathan to the other. After a quick run, he entered and locked the door before marching over to look at his appearance in the mirror. “Hmm, I suppose I should wipe the blood off…” 

 

A shower and a change of clothes later found Theo sitting in the comfortable chair at the center of his cabin, waiting for Stiles to appear on the screen in front of him. “There you are.”

“I dozed off,” Stiles shrugged. “As quiet as the grave up here without you and Corey to make noise.”

“Getting bored, are we?” Theo smirked. “Battle-World: Were-”

“Is not going to have me in it, Theo.” Stiles cut across him with a wry smile. “And I don’t need war to make me feel alive. We’ll have enough excitement soon.”

“I’m counting on it!”

“Uh, while that’s a given, I was speaking of something else.” Stiles returned his eager grin. “Our Leviathans are fast, but still not fast enough, not for inter-galactic travel.”

“Always looking to the future, huh, Stiles? There’s always something brighter out there for you to chase.” 

“Sure,” The Emperor shrugged, looking directly at him. “But when we lost Marric, we lost the brightest mind in the entire Empire, and so far, no one has come close to replacing his genius.”

“I know, but maybe my work with Dr Kadar could reveal something of use for your efforts?” Theo offered, careful to suppress his smile. He wasn’t glad Marric was gone exactly, just that it had made getting closer to Connor a lot easier, even if that had to come at the price of slower technological breakthroughs. “The werewolves we use aren’t actual werewolves.”

“I’m aware that you and he have managed to create a series of living drones not unlike the Leviathans we are crossing the stars in right now.” Stiles shrugged. “I take it that they are performing well enough, since you’re beginning to rival Brett in terms of tourism intake.”

“Thanks,” Theo grinned at the compliment. “They act and react just as a werewolf would, and while personalities have been a problem; they just follow the genetic programming we’ve provided them with, there are still a couple of classes of werewolf drone.”

“And would any of them happen to be werewolf drones who are programmed to fuck?”

“Well, yeah,” Theo rolled his eyes as Stiles grunted. “Only the combat werewolves look like the monsters in the history books, Stiles; hair, claws, fangs the size of knives, the works. The others are what the chimera werewolves look like, as in perfect bodies, perfect faces, perfect dicks and butts and, uh, other things. And before you start, just know that it’s all contained to one town in the center of the Bio-Base; near the gift shop and the main entrance point.”

“Near the gift shop…” Stiles repeated with a murmur. “Well, regardless of that, I trust you, Theo.”

“You don’t think I’d cheat on you for one of those werewolf drones, do you?!” Theo glared at the screen. “Our Leviathans might not be at the speed you demand, Stiles, but they’re fast enough to cross the Empire and for us to hook up every week, so don’t give me that look.”

“I’m sorry, you’ve just been stuck in the trenches for nearly three weeks, I’ve missed you.”

“Well, you weren’t exactly accessible either,” The First Chimera shot back. “Lingering out there on the edge of Chimera Space, what are you hiding?”

“You’ll see soon enough.” Stiles smirked. “Besides, I think it might be a good thing that we haven’t seen each other in a while. Nothing like a bit of anticipation to make the end result more valuable!”

“Hmm, since we’ll be on Earth, do you think he’ll finally…?”

“You’ll have to ask Connor yourself, but as far as I know, he hasn’t been with anyone else in a serious way since Marric disappeared.” Stiles glanced to one side and muttered something to one of his chimeras. “So, yeah, Theo, maybe you should just ask him straight out.”

“Uh, maybe.” Theo cleared his throat and shrugged. “If he’s been with other guys in the meantime, then it’s a lot more likely that he could…I mean, we’d both be there, so that would be better, right?”

“Since I’m the one who liked him first, yeah, you bet I’ll be there!” The Emperor raised a glass to his lips and took a drink. “Plus, your stock has really risen with Connor. I was talking to him yesterday and he said that he was very impressed by the work you did to improve conditions on the mining planets out by the Anteros Belt; better housing, services, even a place to worship me, the chimera god.” Theo rolled his eyes at him, but Stiles continued speaking. “It’s almost as though you were _trying_ to impress him at a critical moment before we all met up again!”

“Well, that’s one theory, Stiles. Maybe I just wanted to do something nice for them.” Theo glared at him. “Why are you laughing?! Fine, you know what, we’ll see who Connor wants more when we get to Earth.” He stabbed the button angrily and his boyfriend’s smirking face vanished. “It’s going to be different this time, I know it is.”

 

“Deceleration complete, Emperor, entering the Solar System now.” 

Stiles stood up from his throne as the stars shuddered back to pinpricks of light instead of long spears of burning energy. He smiled as they drifted past Jupiter, looking out for the continuous storm that raced across its equator. There were several space stations in orbit around the planet, but Stiles could see the increasing development of the system the closer they got to Earth itself. He moved away from the windows and walked over to the Communications Officer, listening in as the Guardians stood up and prepared to disembark. “Continue, please.”

“Yes, Emperor, we’re in contact with the Earth Defense System now. Orbital Batteries are standing down and the anti-ship missiles are no longer locked on.” The chimera breathed a little easier. “The Orbital Approach Dock is in sight, the _Seat of the Emperor_ will pull up alongside it and You will take the shuttle down to the surface.”

“Is the First Chimera here yet?”

“Yes, master, we have him on long range radar.” Another chimera called out from across the command deck. “He will rendezvous with You at the Dock.”

“Excellent work, everyone.” Stiles nodded approvingly at the crew. “We will be departing in two days, so make the necessary checks and resupply if needed. Guardians, let’s go.” He gestured for Ryan to lead them out of the command deck and across the gantry towards the docking chamber. “It’s been a while since you were on Earth, hasn’t it?”

“A few years, Emperor.”

“Well, take some time then, I expect you to step back when we get there.” Stiles said, waiting for the skybridge to extend from the space dock. “Connor will take over your duties.”

“Of course, Emperor, we will submit to supremacy of the Guardian Prime.” Ryan bowed shortly and gestured for him to enter the tunnel across to the Orbital Approach Dock.

“Hmm, good.” Stiles grunted. His expression became brighter as he saw Theo leaning against an empty row of seats in the arrivals lounge, arms folded across his chest. “Well, well, I half expected you to be covered in blood and dirt from the battlefields of your real life video game!”

“Laugh all you want, Stiles, at least what I’m killing can be rebuilt.” Theo smirked and offered his arm to his boyfriend. “Corey arrived a few hours ago, he’s already gone up to the Palace with Nolan and Garrett. But Connor is waiting for us, and a little bird told me that the entirety of Victory City has turned out to see your return.”

“Good job he expanded the heliport to include orbital facilities then.” Stiles murmured, walking with Theo into the waiting shuttle. The small craft was all clean lines and shiny silver, a stark contrast to the more biological variants that they were both used to travelling in between planets and Leviathans. “Hmm, looks like the center of the Empire is prospering.”

“Yeah, of course it is.” Theo grinned. “You know what he’s like; Connor wants the Home Systems to be best possible representation of the Chimera Empire. It is where we all came from, after all.”

“I know.” Stiles mumbled, excitement threading through his stomach as they glided through the atmosphere and into the clear air above Victory City. They fell silent as the glittering steel and glass megacity came into view, filling up the horizon in every direction, the Imperial Palace reaching up to meet them a moment later. Stiles moved away from the window and nodded eagerly at Theo, standing in front of the door as they landed softly. “We’re home.”

 

Connor nodded at the Imperial Guardians behind him and straightened his cloak a little more. The flags of the Empire fluttered in the wind, purple banners streaming outwards as thousands of the highest ranking members of the Empire knelt as one when the doors of the landing craft opened and the Chimera Emperor Himself stepped out, followed by the First Chimera. Connor knelt on one knee and lowered his head, arms raised above him in supplication. “All glory to You, the Chimera God, Master of Chimeras, Supremus of Archons, the Unified Overmind, Supreme Galactic Chimera Emperor, the Alpha Chimera!”

“GLORY!” The response thundered behind him and Connor looked up slowly at his master’s surprised expression, Theo grinning alongside him.

“We welcome You to Earth, Chimera Emperor for this, the celebration of Galactic Victory Day and the foundation of our glorious Galactic Chimera Empire!”

“You may rise, Connor.” The Emperor gestured regally, eyes glowing purple. Theo leaned forward to whisper something in his ear and the Alpha Chimera smiled. “He makes a valid point, after such a lavish welcome, I do you a disservice by using only your name.”

“I am but a humble chimera in Your divine presence, master.”

“Your modesty does you credit, Guardian Prime,” He moved closer and lowered his voice a fraction. “Now, what were they again? Ah, yes. Glory to you, Shield of the Emperor, Orator of His Divine Will, Prophet of the Alpha Chimera, the Supreme Archon of Earth & the Home Systems. I greet you as an equal, brother.” The final sentence was added in a whisper as the Alpha Chimera placed one hand on Connor’s shoulder and touched the other against his cheek. “You have no idea how glad I am to be home.”

“Thank You, Emperor.” Connor stepped back and glanced at Theo. “First Chimera, it is good to see you again.”

“Thanks.” Theo grinned at him, looking around at the thousands of chimeras who had turned out to greet them. “Hell of a welcome wagon, Connor.”

“The return of the Emperor is cause enough to rejoice and celebrate, but that He comes on the eve of Galactic Victory Day is worthy of endless revelry!”

“I think you’ve been here too long,” Theo said to him as the Emperor greeted the gathered members of the Imperial Council. “But hey, I’m always down to revel with you, Connor!”

“In time, perhaps.” Connor smirked at Theo’s surprised expression. He gestured at the ziggurat and indicated that Theo should go first. “There are rituals to be completed, the Emperor is familiar with such, but I have arranged for the three of us to have dinner in the upper hall. There is much to be discussed about the Empire.”

“Is Corey not joining us?” Theo asked as they waited for the Emperor to catch up to them. 

“The Minister for Chimera Intelligence and his retinue are to visit the Fount of Glory, I’m not too sure why, but he said he would join us for the celebrations tomorrow.”

“Well, all the more time for us to, err, reconnect, huh, Connor?”

“As you say, First Chimera.” Connor replied smoothly, bowing slightly when his master returned. “The Exarchs and the Faithful await Your attention, Emperor, the plaza in front of the Palace is at capacity.”

“Wonderful.” He glanced between Connor and Theo. “Did I miss something?”

“Just that Corey skipped the reunion show to go dig up the past.” Theo shrugged, lowering his voice so only they could hear him. “Oh, and Connor is throwing us a date-night!”

“That is not-”

“It’s fine,” The Emperor smiled at him. “Truly, I could do with speaking to you both in a setting that does not include so many banners…You let Greenberg be in charge of the welcome wagon, didn’t you?”

“He asked for it, and my only role is to welcome You to the planet, Emperor,” Connor explained as they walked through the ranks of chimeras towards the Imperial Palace. “I did put my foot down and stop the confetti cannons however.”

“I’ll take the small victories at least.”

 

Victory City still felt like Earth, not the colonies or pleasure worlds or even the highly developed super-capitals of the other Supreme Archons’ planets. It remained a subtle mix of human and chimera architecture, the two forms merging and weaving against each other, gradually becoming indistinguishable the further they went from the center of the megacity. Corey led Garrett and Nolan through the complex warrens of tunnels that seemed to criss-cross most of Victory City now, the passageways were suspended high above the crowded streets; news of the Emperor’s arrival had spread rapidly. “This way.” Corey pointed at a blank façade in front of them.

“Are you sure?” Nolan asked, shaking his head. “Why don’t we just grab a Mag-Lev train like Garrett suggested and get there in less than an hour?”

“Because I want to see if they still have them.”

“But-”

“Over here.” Garrett gestured for them to follow him inside the featureless building. “I think this is the hanger you were looking for, Corey.”

“Yeah?” He frowned. “They must have moved the Ospreys out of the airfields since I was last here. Do any of them still work?”

“Maybe.” Garrett shrugged as Nolan went to find the lights. “I didn’t think you knew how to fly one though?”

“Oh, yeah, Connor taught me before we left for the colonies. I got the muscle memory, it'll be fine!" Corey explained when the lights flickered overhead and revealed dozens of the tilt-rotor aircraft lined up around the hanger. Most were still gleaming black or purple, while the remainder were a dull, gun-metal grey. “Did you know that the first Leviathans carried Ospreys with them when they went on the exploration missions? A few even flew through alien skies!”

“Why did they stop?” Nolan asked as he returned to stand next to Corey. “I didn’t think we had problems with them.”

“Parts mostly, the Empire only operated the ones we had during the early years because of the capture of a bunch of pilots and their aircraft in the first major battle after Beacon Hills.” Corey explained, opening one of the doors and climbing inside. “Ah, cool, c’mon, we’re taking this one!”

“Any reason for _this_ Osprey and not the ones closest to the door?” Garrett grumbled as he followed Nolan up the rear ramp and into the vaguely familiar interior.

“I recognize the tail number,” The younger chimera said as he settled into the pilot’s seat and Nolan climbed in next to him. “This was the Osprey that Connor used during the final battle of the War of the Ghost Riders, you can see the lightning marks near the door and the reinforced footwell by the exit ramp. With the Guardian Prime in full armor, you’d need to be careful or he’d go through the floor! It was made of a ceramic composite that they used for tank armor in the old human armies, so just imagine trying to fly with that in the back.”

“Wow,” Nolan said admiringly, flipping a switch to open the doors set into a nearby wall. “You really know your chimera history!”

“Well, someone has to make sure they get it right and remember who the heroes were.”

“Is that why there’s an entire section of the school book dedicated to the ‘most loyal chimera of them all, Corey Bryant’?” Garrett sniggered and ruffled Corey’s hair affectionately when he received a death glare in response. “Either way, better get us in the air.”

“And keep us there, please.” Nolan glanced between Corey and Garrett. “I don’t need to see an up-close look at the slums of Victory City!”

“That’s good,” Corey replied, taxiing the Osprey carefully down the row towards the slowly opening hanger bay doors. “Because there aren’t any slums in Victory City.”

“What? There has to be, every city has them.” The assassin protested. “Even if they’re not slums exactly, not like when the humans ruled Earth, but there have to be less developed areas of the city.”

“Nope!” Corey grinned as he gunned the engine, sending the aircraft hurtling out of the doors and soaring into the air. He hit a switch next to the landing gear and the Osprey hummed with extra power. “That’s the experimental antimatter drive they installed back when the Leviathans were still being constructed. It should get us to the Fount of Glory a lot faster!” Corey pointed at the districts they were zooming over. “See, Nolan? No slums! Everyone wants to live in Victory City because they know Connor and Parrish will look after them; even the last remaining humans chose to stay here instead of venturing out to the colonies. The Guardian Prime had them buried alongside the rest of their race when time eventually caught up and after, he turned their homes into a museum to make sure we remember where all chimeras came from.”

“Are you sure he’s in love with us and not with Connor?” Nolan asked with a smirk, avoiding a smack from Corey. “Hey!” 

“We’re friends, and he’s the greatest chimera that ever lived!” Corey shouted back as the roar of the engines got louder, their speed rapidly increasing. “Every system under his command has one hundred percent viability, the Home Systems supplies a third of the materials and finished products for the Empire despite representing only a fifth of all colonised worlds. We should all be trying to emulate Connor.”

“Alright, alright, you made your point.” Nolan raised his hands in submission and looked out the window instead. The city had vanished from view, stopping its continuous sprawl northwards after they crossed over the gleaming launch pads of Fort Connor, shuttles taking off and landing in an endless bustle of activity. There was nothing but forest under them now, wild and uncontrolled, the Beacon Hills Preserve had grown larger than ever before, claiming abandoned the towns and cities around the Fount of Glory. The Osprey whined as Corey changed course and brought them in lower across the tree-tops. 

“Do you see it?” Corey pointed to the massive rock structure that loomed like a giant fang from among the trees, dominating the skyline for miles around. “The Rhino’s Horn?”

“I see it.” He nodded as Garrett bent between them. “One of the most fabled places in all of chimera civilisation. Even if it was something completely different before we came along.”

“And made it better.” Garrett smirked, straightening up. “Looks like the northern landing pad is still operational, Corey, set us down there.”

“That’s the plan.”

 

Corey looked up at the craggy face of the Rhino’s Horn, worn away by time and the elements from the smooth, polished rock he remembered. He stopped moving when a Guardian emerged from the sliding doors at the entrance and walked towards them. “Hi. I didn’t know this facility was still operational?”

“Greetings to you, Minister.” The armored chimera rumbled, bowing shortly. “The majority of the Rhino’s Horn has been shut down, yes, though the Emperor still runs some operations out of our Chimera Research wing.”

“But we can have a look around, right?”

“Of course, and the upper levels are still powered, if you would like to stay the night.”

“That sounds fun!” Nolan nudged Corey playfully in the ribs as Garrett wandered over to look at the statue of Stiles erected at the entrance. “You know that I’ve never really been here, right? I got the chimera upgrade in the Imperial Palace, always wanted to see what it was like in the place the Chimera Army was actually made.”

“Yeah, I mean, they’re not expecting us back for the celebration until tomorrow anyway,” Corey shrugged and followed the Guardian inside, touching Garrett’s back as they went. “C’mon, let’s go.”

Once they were inside and the Guardian had left them alone, Corey brought them towards the chimera creation wing, walking along a large gantry above the massive cavern that spanned the length and width of several football fields. “Here it is. Not quite as epic as it used to be, but hundreds of chimeras could be made here at once, Awakened by the Emperor as soon as they were finished. He used to spend days here, just walking up and down the rows, adding chimeras to the army. Theo loved this view, said it would have made the Dread Doctors writhe with jealousy.”

“Haha, I can only imagine what it would have looked like.” Nolan breathed, leaning over the railing to stare at the metal slabs and lines of still-pristine equipment.

“And smelled like.” Garrett added with a frown. “Even with the golden light of that blood-stilling device, that’s a lot of people and a lot of spilled blood.”

“Mmh,” Corey agreed, nodding towards a nearby elevator. “Let’s go up top so you can check out the views. They’ve probably put us in the apartment next to where the Emperor would stay if he was here.”

“Is it high up?” Nolan asked, standing next to Corey as Garrett hit the button. “I’ve heard-”

“Above the clouds? Yeah, that’s right.” Corey nodded. “Everyone knows that the Rhino’s Horn was a center of research and experimentation, but only a few know that it was a fortress too, built on the bones of the very first chimera stronghold; Fort Ibis.”

“Um, well, that’s true…” Nolan flushed when the other two looked at him. “The humans didn’t exactly see it like that, especially not the rebels.”

“Well that’s to be expected.”

“Uh, yeah, but they all talked about how it was basically a giant stone dick and said that Theo was majorly over-compensating.” 

“What?!” 

“Yup, that’s what they said.”

“But it’s not true!” Corey cried out, following Nolan and a smirking Garrett into the apartments. “Theo doesn’t need to compensate for anything! He’s, err, perfectly adequate.”

“Adequate, huh?” Garrett grinned openly. “So, was it his body that lured you in?”

“You know what’s more than adequate, don’t you?” Nolan winked and stood behind Garrett, sliding his hands across the Löwenmensch’s stomach and down towards his crotch. “I’m sure the views are better at night, anyway.”

“I suppose you have a point.” Corey smirked back and stretched up to kiss Garrett on the lips. He broke away and opened the door to the guest quarters. “C’mon, sun will set in an hour, let’s not waste it!”

 

Stiles waited for the servers to clear away the plates and put down the desserts before he spoke again. “Thank you, Connor, taking care of us as ever.”

“You’re welcome, Emperor.” The Guardian Prime inclined his head, a smile pulling at his lips as Theo looked from the selection of cakes to his plate. “I can call for more plates if you would like several slices, First Chimera.”

“No, I’ll only have the one.” Theo grinned at him, eyes burning with an intense purple hue. “After all, I want to make sure I’m not too full for later!”

“Oh? What’s happening later?”

“Uh, hopefully something that I’ll remember for the rest of my life!” The First Chimera glanced at Stiles. “I mean, you’re not doing anything official tonight, that’s all planned for tomorrow, right?”

“Yeah, technically it’s the middle of the night on Mieczyslaw Prime, so Connor graciously moved everything around instead.” Stiles explained, shaking his head. “I’m still not sure why we don’t just use Earth time as standard instead of forcing everything to account for the twenty-nine hour day on my capital planet.”

“We’re able to justify throwing out the old calendar in order to create a new chimera one.” Connor replied, dragging his spoon along the top of his tiramisu and popping the gathered dessert into his mouth. 

“And that also meant we could rename the months to whatever we wanted.” Theo added with a grin. “Need I remind you that we are currently in ‘Theomas’?!”

“You don’t have to.” Stiles groaned and rolled his eyes. “I’m well aware of what month we’re in.” He pursed his lips, watching as Theo nibbled on his slice of cake and gazed openly at Connor at the same time. The smell of arousal hung in the air, Theo not even trying to mask his scent. But the Guardian Prime was impossible to read, even Stiles couldn’t penetrate the carefully cultivated neutrality that Connor wore as emotional armor over his actual breastplate. “So, Connor, any news on Marric?”

“No, Emperor, he would have returned by now if they had engineering difficulties.” Connor responded smoothly, still eating his dessert. “It’s likely, based on Marric’s last transmission, that they attempted to fire the Induced Singularity Engine and failed to account for the variance in the Leviathan’s cascade cooling system.”

“And what the hell does that mean?” Theo stared at him.

“They created a small black hole that tore the ship and its crew apart.” Connor glanced at him. “The good news is that such a death would be instantaneous to Marric and the chimeras, even if to those outside the event horizon it would seem as though they are forever stuck in a slow motion death. Time is relative after all.”

“Ugh, I hate Singularity Mechanics.” Theo groaned, rubbing his temples. “They always give me a headache.”

“You seem to be very together about his loss.” Stiles commented, asking the next question carefully after a sip of his coffee. “So, does that mean you’re seeing someone new?”

“No, Emperor, no one.”

“Not even Parrish?” Theo asked, shrugging when they looked at him. “I always thought he was interested!”

“If he is, the Hellhound has never mentioned it.” Connor shook his head. “While I am not alone, exactly, I have no desire for a serious relationship. But I keep busy with improving the Empire, or at least my section of it, master, there is no reason to fret.”

“Oh, I’m not fretting exactly.” Stiles smiled at Theo. “So, improving the Empire seems to be a catching thing! I recall our last conversation about it was to do with you, Theo.”

“That’s correct,” Connor glanced at the First Chimera. “I was moved by your kindness and generosity to the citizens living on the unofficial colony worlds out in the Anteros Belt. You didn’t have to do that.”

“No, but they were supplying valuable ore and other materials to my territory, legitimizing the supply and rewarding those who would undertake such risks for the glory of the Empire seemed like the right thing to do.” Theo hunched forward in his chair, keeping eye contact with Connor. “It seemed like the sort of thing _you_ would do.”

“Hmm, indeed.”

“Theo might be turning over a new leaf, after a thousand years!” Stiles laughed, nudging Connor playfully. “Do you think he’s worthy of a little more friendship now?”

“Perhaps.” Connor replied after a moment of weighing Theo up. “While it does not wipe the slate clean for your past transgressions against the Emperor and Empire, you have been steadily improving the lot of your people. Not to mention that Battle-World: Werewolf looks interesting, possibly providing a valuable outlet for chimeras to rid themselves of unwanted aggression.”

“I’m all about relieving that tension!” Theo reached under the table and arched his brows at Stiles. “Speaking of…”

“Yeah, of course.” Stiles glanced at Connor. “It’s not an order, but I think you know what Theo and I both want. You’ll be treated as an equal, not an enabler.”

“I…”

“Our genetic sequences are close, but not too close to make this awkward, I hope.” The Emperor stood up as Connor did. “So, like I said, it’s an offer, not a command.”

“Do you want to come with us, Connor?” Theo smiled at him and joined Stiles at the terrace’s entrance to the Emperor’s quarters. 

 

Theo shoved Stiles into the bedroom, doors opening easily against the Alpha Chimera’s back, their kiss becoming more involved as his lips parted. A certain thrill raced across his skin as Theo heard Connor walking in after them, but even still the Guardian Prime’s scent was masked, a wall of nothing where there should be sparking desire. He pushed the distraction from his mind and focused instead on Stiles kissing him back. The bed was at Stiles’ legs before they were ready and they both fell against it. Theo broke off, laughing as Stiles groaned.

“Seriously? Are you really that giddy?”

“What? This is a big deal!” Theo rolled over onto his side, casting his eyes across Stiles’ flushed face and messed up clothes. He paused and flicked the gaze up to where Connor was still watching them, his expression impossible to get a proper read on. “Are you gonna stand there all night?”

Connor simply looked back at him in silence and Theo frowned.

“Leave him, Theo.” Stiles said, reaching over to take Theo’s hand and place in on his waist. “Connor will join us when he wants to, right?”

“Of course…Stiles.” The Guardian Prime paused in the middle of his reply, seeming to weigh up the right title, before using the Emperor’s name. “When the time is right.”

“Mmh.” Theo grunted again, but Stiles kissed him quickly and his eyes closed, focusing on the sensations evoked by his boyfriend’s tongue in his mouth, so familiar after such a long time of being together, even if they were spread out among the stars. He pushed Stiles onto his back and inserted his torso between opening legs to kiss him better. “Mmf!”

“Hmm, mmh!” Stiles moaned into his mouth, hands roving up and down Theo’s body, dipping beneath his shirt to touch smooth, tanned skin. His fingers swept across the First Chimera’s back and brushed against the waistband of his trunks. A needy groan erupted from his throat when Theo pulled away and began kissing and licking along Stiles’ jaw. His eyes flicked open as the scent of arousal drenched the air and caused his cock to tent shamelessly. Connor’s eyes were still on them, seated in one of the chairs next to the window, his gaze moving over the bucking figures. Stiles grinned when he noticed that the other chimera was shifting around uncomfortably. “Hey Connor, I know that the segmented sections of your armor are great for deflecting hostile blows, but not so much for friendly blow jobs.”

“Yeah,” Theo lifted off Stiles long enough to cast a thirsty look at Connor’s face, his lips red and tingling. “That armor does look good on you. It would also look good on my floor.” 

“Really?” Connor arched a brow. “When did you get the time to flirt as an orc in _World of Warcraft?_ Were you raiding between chimera-making sessions with the Dread Doctors?!”

“Uh, I got around.” Theo blinked, not expecting the joke to land as Stiles laughed. But it didn’t matter, he could finally smell something from Connor, could see the corners of his lips twitching. “So, are you going to get out of the totally redundant armor now or do I have to come over there and strip you out of it? I’m down for either!” He added with a smirk.

“You never know when a new evil might appear, First Chimera.” Connor replied, standing up slowly and reaching over his shoulder for the release clasps. His blood-red cloak fluttered to the floor and there was a metallic clunk signalling the separation of the cuirass from the backplate. The Guardian Prime carefully laid the protective armor on the ground near the door, continuing to take pieces off until he was standing in front of them in the padded under-garment, his muscular form better defined. 

“Mmh.” Theo nodded approvingly, feeling his cock jump in his trunks, eager to see actual skin. His wish was granted when Connor glanced between their rapt faces and shrugged, pulling off his top and stepping out of the pants, leaving him in just a pair of patterned white and blue trunks. Theo bit his lip and ran his eyes over Connor’s smooth, well-built body, hearing the uptick in Stiles’ pulse as well. It wasn’t the first time Theo had seen Connor like this, but that had been a _long_ time ago, and the chimera hadn’t wanted Theo to touch him then. Even though he was a good deal shorter when not in the stature-altering armor, Theo didn’t care, he just wanted Connor as soon as possible, even that meant they were the same height. “Um, no point delaying, huh, Stiles?”

“I suppose not.” He laughed and knelt up on the bed, removing his clothes rapidly, but taking his trunks off too so that the Alpha Chimera could lounge back on the large bed completely naked. His cock stood upright from his nest of trimmed pubes, beads of precum lingering at the top of his slit, a remnant of his excitement from making out with Theo earlier. Stiles folded his hands behind his back and grinned at the First Chimera. “Well, go on, then, show us what you’ve got, Theo!”

“He’s still wearing underwear though.” The chimera protested, eyeing up the large bulge in Connor’s trunks, a thick shaft pointing off to the side, heavy balls sagging the material at the front. “But I suppose I gotta lead by example!” Theo shrugged dramatically, though he was the fastest to strip naked, his cock slapping energetically against his stomach with a splattering of precum along his tanned abs. “Ta da!”

“Do you want a round of applause?”

“You can admire my sexy body later when you’re buried in my tight, perky ass!” Theo winked at Connor as Stiles glanced his way, brow arched. “Well, did you really think Connor would let _me_ fuck _him?_ ”

“I guess not.” Stiles looked at the Guardian Prime. “Are you ok with that? I mean, things might change as we go on, you don’t have to be locked into any particular role.”

"It’s fine.” Connor nodded and hooked his thumbs into the waistband of his trunks. “I’d prefer it actually.”

“Great!” Theo beamed and got up off the bed. He met Connor’s eyes before he reached out and slowly tugged the front of the other chimera’s trunks down, his heart beating rapidly as the shaved smooth expanse of skin came into view at the base of Connor’s cock. Theo hummed needily to himself, eyes dragged down to where his hands were as Connor stood motionless, letting him do all the work. The First Chimera wetted his lips and pulled the fabric of his underwear out slightly, so Connor’s cock pushed up, the long, thick shaft being revealed ever so slowly. “Fuck…” 

“Bigger than yours, Theo?” Connor smirked at him as Theo’s eyes flicked up to him. “Well, it _is_ your ass I’m interested in after all, right?”

“Yup. That’s what I want too!” Theo nodded eagerly, pushing the rest of Connor’s trunks down and helping him step out of them. The chimera was tanned across most of his skin, but unlike Theo, there were obvious tan lines where Connor wore a swimsuit. Theo felt his cock tremble as an image of Connor in a pair of tight, figure-hugging speedos popped into his mind. _Fuck! I’m not sure which is hotter: his actual dick, or the promise of his dick!_

“You going to stand there admiring him all night, Theo?” Stiles called from the bed behind them. “C’mon over here, guys.” He waited until Theo and Connor had climbed up next to him before reaching out to run a hand across Theo’s smooth chest while his other hand curled around Connor’s upper arm, smiling when the Guardian Prime flexed for him. His eyes lingered on Connor, the chimera’s strong, naked form making his own cock twitch just as much as Theo’s. Stiles motioned for Theo to move over slightly and then repositioned himself on the bed, leaving Connor space to stretch out as he watched them. The Alpha Chimera smirked and nodded for Theo to kiss him again.

Their make-out session was more intense this time around, as though Theo was trying to show off for Connor. Stiles smirked as his boyfriend moved lower, lips seeking his collarbone and nipples. _Of course Theo is trying to impress Connor…thinks he’s so clever, haha, oh fuck!_ “Ah, hmm! Oh, that’s good, Theo!”

“Yeah?” Theo grinned and flicked his tongue against the hardened nub of flesh, his fingers teasing the other one until his mouth was free to drag across Stiles’ chest and suck it into his mouth. The chimera could feel Stiles’ cock grind against his stomach, a certain eagerness filling the air around them; this was the collision of a lot of fantasies, both his and Stiles’ dreams of having Connor to themselves. The fact that it was happening to them at the same time just made everything hotter, and as a result, made Theo acutely aware of just how turned on he was, knowing that Connor was watching his every move, one hand ever so slowly jerking off his thick dick…the dick that would soon be buried in his ass.

“Ugh, mmh.” Theo moaned loudly, the tip of his tongue roving down along Stiles’ abs and naval. His hand gently pulled Stiles’ cock to one side, so he could pass his tongue around the base and kiss the big balls resting between his legs. Theo made to kiss the flaring head of his cock but pulled away at the last second with an evil grin. “This is a threesome after all…Connor?”

The Guardian Prime glanced at Stiles, a moment’s hesitation lingering before resolving into determination. He crawled across the bed and took Theo’s position between Stiles’ spread legs and lay down on his stomach, elbows propping him upright. Connor licked his lips and closed his eyes, mouth open as he slipped it over the head of Stiles’ cock and took the thickness onto his tongue. 

“Mmph!” Stiles groaned and arched suddenly, Connor not resisting when he thrusted the entirety of his cock into the chimera’s mouth, hitting his throat with a noisy gag. “Fuck, sorry, Connor!” He gasped and relaxed, easing his dick back and gazing down at the Guardian Prime as Connor pulled off him. “Are you alright?”

“Fine.” Connor nodded and jerked him off a few times as he swallowed awkwardly.

“That was so hot though!” Theo grinned and immediately moved lower, towards the foot of the bed. He rolled onto his front and reached for Connor’s dick, wasting no time in sticking it into his mouth with glee. “Mmmh!”

 

The Guardian Prime’s lips brushed the tip of Stiles' cock as Connor pulled out to look over his shoulder at Theo. "Aw, wow." Satisfied that the First Chimera was sincere in his ministrations, Connor turned back to the Alpha Chimera and wrapped his lips around the shaft of his cock, just below the leaking head. Stiles was moaning and panting at him, half sitting up, balancing himself with one hand while the other carded through Connor's short, dark hair and gently gripped his head, guiding his lips back over the tip and all too soon it was pressing against the back of Connor's throat once more. "Mmh!" Connor hummed along the length of hardness in his mouth, his tongue tapping against the underside of the Alpha Chimera's shaft.

He could feel Theo’s talented tongue at work on his own cock too, the other chimera moving faster; wet, sloppy sounds coming from him as he endeavoured to stuff all of Connor’s large cock into his mouth. Connor paused in his sucking of Stiles when he heard Theo gag, attempting to pull out but Theo refused, grasping his girth and plunging his cock deeper into his throat. “Fuck, dude!” Connor moaned, rolling his head back and gasping when he looked down at Theo’s stuffed cheeks and steady gaze, their eyes locking on. 

After what seemed like hours, Theo pulled off him, lips glistening with a mix of salvia and precum, dribbles of the essence on his chin and chest. The chimera wiped himself clean with the back of his hand and smirked at Connor. “So, was that good?”

“It’s in there with my top five best blow jobs, yeah.” Connor shrugged nonchalantly. 

“Top five?!” Theo exploded, getting off his stomach and trying to ignore the way his cock was dripping precum from Connor’s smirk. “You-”

“Theo!” Stiles glared at him and shook his head. “Calm down, for fuck’s sake.”

“Sorry.”

“You know,” The Alpha Chimera grinned suddenly. “If you _are_ trying to outdo Connor’s previous ‘best fucks ever’, you could try using that talented tongue of yours for something else?”

“Ah, I got it.” The First Chimera returned Stiles’ smirk and looked back at Connor. _He showered just before dinner, I wonder did he hope this would happen as much as I did?_ Connor was lying between them despite the argument that had broken out, and was still stroking Stiles’ cock up and down with a steady, even pace. The Guardian Prime’s cock was hard and glistening from Theo’s efforts, the taste of his precum still strong in his mouth. Theo cast his eyes across Connor’s hip, his skin the same smooth texture all over his body barring a light dusting of natural hair on his forearms and calves. But the chimera’s ass was perfectly hairless, just the way Theo liked them. “Mmh, I know just what you need, Connor!”

He moistened his lips eagerly and shuffled forward, nodding for Connor to roll fully onto his chest. The Guardian Prime was frowning, but a gentle pressure from Stiles had him moving to comply, leaving Theo with an unobstructed view of Connor’s ass. “Fuck, you’ve got, like, it’s so tight!” Connor's ass was muscular to look at, though still somehow smooth and cherubic. Theo rested his hands on the chimera's smooth cheeks, careful not to press or pull too hard in case he would mar their perfection. He must have been staring for a few minutes because the chimera felt the unmistakable sensation of the Overmind forcing his head upwards. He looked into Stiles' unblinking, purple gaze and nodded. "Yeah, I, uh, I'm going to start any minute."

"I can see that, Theo." Stiles grinned and lay back, gesturing for Connor to resume sucking him off. "Get to it, I can smell that your cock is on the verge of a major eruption, and don't you want to be inside _me_ when that happens?"

"Oh, yeah!" Theo agreed hurriedly and shuffled down into position behind Connor, his hands pushing apart the flawless ass cheeks to reveal an equally perfect hole. Theo sucked in a deep breath, clenching his teeth as he tried to stave off the orgasm threatening to rip through him as he looked at the light pink slot in the middle of the pale valley, just the hint of something darker when Connor clenched and released. "You better be ready when I'm done here, Stiles! I'll probably get inside you and then splurge everywhere!"

"Sounds pretty fun!" Stiles smirked above him, reaching across the bed for the lube. He couldn't quite reach, his eyes flaring for a moment as he mimicked an ice Elemental nearby to use a spear of frost to wrap around the bottle and bring it to him. "I do enjoy watching you lose control like this, Theo, it's a rare thing!"

"There's no one as rare as Connor though." Theo grinned and slid his entire body down the bed, so he could devote his face to the task at hand. "Aw, yeah, so hot!"

Connor grunted around Stiles' cock when he felt a sudden invasion of hot wetness followed swiftly by a pleasant tang of coolness as Theo swiped the flat of his tongue up and down the smooth crack. "Um, ah!" His eyes were closed again, instinct taking over as he continued to pleasure the Alpha Chimera, rubbing the top of Stiles' cock against the inside of his cheek. But all of his attention was focused on the pleasurable sensations that came from Theo’s mouth and lips and tongue. “Ahhhh!”

“Aww, mmmh, yeah!” Theo groaned into Connor’s crack, mouthing at his tight hole as the tip of his tongue speared into the space he had created. The chimera wrapped his arms around Connor's thighs and rocked back and forth on the bed, grinding his cock against the duvet while he plunged his tongue deeper and deeper in Connor's ass. Theo's mind was on fire, the strength of his centuries-long fantasies burning bright as they were realized in front of him. “Mmh! Aw! Yeah!” Theo moaned noisily into him, precum from his cock staining the bed as he felt Connor beginning to rock back and forth against his intruding tongue. _I don't really want to fuck Connor; his dick is what I need! But, fuck, if he wants to ride my tongue like it was my dick, I'm ok with that!_

“Aw, fuck!” Connor panted, Stiles having moved away so he could fully enjoy Theo’s tongue lavishing attention on his hole. He arched up onto his knees slightly, hearing appreciative noises from the other chimera, Theo’s hands pulling his ass cheeks wider apart to gain better access for his mouth. He clenched his ass harder around Theo’s intruding tongue, waves of pleasure erupting from the rapid flicks and moan-filled licks that accompanied each time that Connor rocked his ass harder back onto Theo's face. His cock was harder now than it had been yet, and stars were exploding around Connor's head as he felt waves of lust and satisfaction roll across him. He was barely aware of what the Alpha Chimera was doing, eyes half-lidded as Theo contented his relentless assault.

Stiles grinned at the noises coming from both of them, moving around to watch the two chimeras from near the bathroom door. He flipped the cap off of the bottle of lube, squeezing a small amount onto one hand as Theo’s ass quivered and bounced on the bed, his grinding motions making Stiles’ cock twitch with excitement. _Won’t need a lot, just enough to get Theo inside. He’s definitely gonna cum as soon as Connor pushes into him._ The Alpha Chimera smirked and squatted down to get better access to his own ass, lubed fingers slipping easily into his hole and coating the entrance. “Hmm, it’s been a while since you were fucked, Theo.” Stiles muttered, approaching the bed and kneeling down behind him, ready to squirt a generous amount into his hand. 

“Uh, not exactly.” Theo pulled his flushed face away from Connor’s ass long enough to glance at Stiles with a grin. “Let’s just say that I was prepared for any eventuality!”

“Huh? Oh…” Stiles parted Theo’s cheeks and smirked at the looser-than-expected hole. He slipped two fingers in with ease, lubing up the entrance and scissoring the digits rapidly as Theo’s moans of delight became even louder, if still muffled by Connor’s ass. “Oh, yeah, Theo, I can see you’ve been waiting for this for a long time! But you’ll still be real tight for Connor’s thick cock when he pushes it into you, right?!”

“Uh, yeah! Sorry dude, but I gotta go right now!” Theo mumbled and pulled back from the well-rimmed ass. He glared at Stiles and gestured at the bed. “Don’t do anything, don’t clench, nothing, not until I’m buried in you and he’s in me!”

“I’ll try.” Stiles smirked and got down on his hands and knees at the edge of the bed, so Theo could enter him standing up. “You better hurry, you’re gonna stain the carpet with all that precum!”

“I know!”

 

“C’mon, Connor, I can’t wait much longer!” Theo begged him, already buried in Stiles’ ass, neither of them moving as the Guardian Prime stood nearby, arms folded across his chest, a smile playing about his lips. “Why aren’t you doing anything?!”

“Oh, I’m just savoring this moment.” Connor grinned openly. “A thousand years might have gone by since we first met each other, Theo, but this is the first time I’ve heard such a neediness.”

“What the fuck, dude?! Stiles, can’t you-”

“It’s alright, Theo, Connor’s just playing with you.” Stiles chuckled. “I can read him better than you and he’s just making you wait for it a little. You’ll be thankful for this delayed gratification.”

“And they call me the evil one…” Theo muttered darkly, trying not to moan when Stiles clenched his ass suddenly. He looked up, seeing the smile fade from Connor’s handsome face and the more familiar determination return to his expression. Theo swallowed hard as Connor approached him, the other chimera’s cock sticking out now, head shiny with precum and lube. “C’mon! I’m ready, just shove it in, don’t play nice.”

“As you wish.” Connor answered after a moment’s pause, trying to determine if Theo was being serious. He stood directly behind the First Chimera’s muscular ass, the meaty butt cheeks spreading apart at his touch. Connor grasped the base of his cock in one hand and stretched Theo’s hole with the other, forcing him to bend over against Stiles at a steeper angle. He didn’t speak again to warn Theo, feeling an accustomed mistrust surround his heart and he pushed his cock into the First Chimera’s ass in one solid move. “Gah!”

“AH!” Theo groaned low and long, arching back suddenly into Connor’s chest, the Guardian Prime’s arms wrapping around him as if by instinct. He started bucking back and forth wildly, his cock ploughing into Stiles clenching ass and then pulling out, so his own hole could be further stretched by Connor’s thick dick. Theo shouted and moaned and panted loudly as fantasy crashed into reality and he was suddenly aware of who was inside him, of the perfect unity between the three of them as he began to unload in Stiles’ ass. “Ah, Connor! Ah, Connor! Ah, Connor! Ah, Connor! Aw, yeah, Connor!”

The Guardian Prime smirked as he felt Theo shudder and gasp in his arms, sweat streaming down his smooth skin and winding across muscular abs into his crotch. He waited a few seconds for Theo to come down from the sensory overload, and then resumed fucking him with long, deep strokes. Theo’s ass clenched tightly around his shaft as Stiles collapsed on the bed, Connor essentially fucking them both since Theo appeared to be still cumming from the intense moans he was releasing. Connor lowered his arms from the other chimera’s torso and placed them on Theo’s hips, gradually increasing the pace of his thrusts until there was an audible slapping of flesh on flesh and Theo wasn’t the only one moaning. “Aw, fuck, yeah, nice and tight!”

“Ugh!” Theo groaned, feeling his cock harden almost as soon as he had finished creaming Stiles’ hole. But it didn’t seem to matter, Stiles was rocking back on his dick, Theo’s cum providing a squelching sleeve for him to slide his cock back and forth in. “Fuck, this is intense!”

“Good,” Stiles moaned under them, “It would want to be since you came faster than a-”

“I have plenty of energy left for another load!” Theo interrupted hotly. “Though that might be pretty quick, I’ve never fucked you with my own sloppy seconds!”

“I am versatile, Theo.” Stiles reminded him, looking over his shoulder at his boyfriend and past his parted lips to where Connor was pounding determinedly in and out of the other chimera. _Fuck, if I thought you looked perfect before…_ Connor’s eyes were closed, rosy lips parted, the shadows of the lamps lit around the room catching his face in a way that enhanced his handsome features. Stiles swallowed hard, feeling his cock get stiffer than before. "Theo, I want to fuck you. And I want to do it while Connor is still ramming his cock inside you. I want to look at both your beautiful faces as I shoot my load in your tight ass or over your smooth body, either way, I _need_ to be as close as possible to Connor!"

“Uh, ok?” Theo nodded, somewhat surprised by Stiles’ vocal demands. He grunted as the Alpha Chimera pulled off his cock and compensated for the loss of pleasure by sliding back further onto Connor’s dick. “Mmh!”

“Get on your back, Connor.” Stiles ordered, gesturing to the center of the bed. “And try and keep your cock in Theo’s tight ass, he’s gonna ride you that way, ok?”

“Sounds perfect, Stiles!” Theo groaned, his jaw going slack when Connor picked him up easily, lifting his legs off the ground and climbing awkwardly onto the duvet, the tip of his thick cock managing to remain lodged in the entrance of Theo’s hole. “Aw! Yeah, fuck, yeah!” The First Chimera moaned loudly when Connor got comfortable on his back, wrenching Theo’s hips down hard, impaling his ass on his dick. Theo groaned in pleasure as his cock splattered a mix of precum and frothy cum from his first load over his abs. “Fuck…Stiles, are you coming?”

“Aw, Theo, you sound so needy!” Stiles grinned at him and knelt between their bent knees, rubbing the head of his cock up and down the twin cracks of the chimeras in front of him. His cock was lubed enough that it glistened in the low light and dripped onto Connor’s thick shaft as the Guardian Prime stilled his thrusts. “Come out to just before your head is at his ring.”

“Got it.” Connor replied tightly, getting close to his limit. Theo was moving against his chest, grabbing Connor’s right hand and placing it on his pecs, guiding the Guardian Prime’s fingers up to Theo’s erect nipples and groaning in satisfaction when Connor began to flick the hardened nubs back and forth. “You might want to hurry, Stiles, we’re all really close.”

“I know, that’s why I’m doing this.” Stiles grinned at them, his eyes blazing purple as he increased the sensitivity of their nerves to the highest levels he could do without hurting them. The chorus of pleasure-filled moans that greeted him as he pressed his dripping cock head against Theo’s widened hole made his balls tingle and excitement rush through his chest. “Here we go.”

“AH!” Theo arched his spine and spread his legs as wide as possible, bouncing up and down on Connor’s cock as Stiles pushed resolutely through the tight ring to bury himself deep inside Theo’s ass. “Aw, fuck, aw, Stiles!” The chimera groaned and moaned uncontrollably when Stiles bottomed out, feeling both their cocks fill him completely. His body was weightless, writhing around on Connor’s muscular torso and driven back and forth by Stiles’ rapid thrusts. “Aw, Connor! Aw, Stiles! Aww! Aww! Fuck, yes!”

“Mmh!” Stiles groaned, grasping Theo’s knees to pull the chimera harder down on his cock before his hands slipped on sweat-soaked skin and he searched elsewhere for grip. His hands pushed under Theo’s arms and glided up Connor’s chest and defined pecs to reach his shoulders. The action forced him all the way into Theo, allowing for short, frantic thrusts if he wanted to maintain the connection to Connor. “So fucking perfect!”

“Ugh, yes, Stiles!” Theo moaned again, rolling his head back onto Connor’s shoulder as he let his boyfriend use his ass completely. “You gonna cum? You gonna cum in me?!”

“Nah, I like an ass full of cum, but you and Connor have such perfect skin that it’d be a waste to shoot my cream inside you when it can decorate your abs instead!” Stiles grunted, punctuating each word with a rapid thrust into Theo’s ass. After a few final seconds of his cock rubbing alongside Connor’s dick, Stiles released the Guardian Prime and pulled out of Theo in one smooth move. There was a wet sound as Theo failed to clench in time and cum splattered out of his entrance to smear around his thighs. “Fuck! That’s so hot, seeing you all used and open like that!”

“Yeah?” Theo smirked and started jerking his cock, rubbing it up against Stiles’ slick dick as the Alpha Chimera changed position, getting up on his knees to jerk off in front of Theo and Connor. “Just you wait and see, I’m going to be fucking _gaping_ when Connor pulls out!”

“Uh! Uh! Uh! Fuck, Theo!” Stiles shouted, his hand a blur as he swiped his eyes across his boyfriend’s glistening body and back onto Connor’s face and the visible parts of his neck and shoulders. The curve of his chin, the slope of his jaw, the deep connection with Connor's blazing purple eyes was enough to send Stiles over the edge, pumping a stream of cum into Theo's crotch, ropes of the thick load splattering against his cock and dripping down between his legs to gather on Connor's cock. Stiles watched in pleasured silence as the shaft of Connor's dick disappeared into Theo's ass, his mouth catching up with the rest of his body after a few seconds. "Ahh! Fuck, guys! Fuck!" He smeared the final drops of cum over Theo’s tanned chest, rubbing his cock head across the hardened nipples as Theo moaned needily.

“Fuck! I gotta cum again!” Theo arched his back, the promise becoming reality a second later as he exploded hard, torrents of cum shooting everywhere; arcs launching overhead to splatter against Connor’s face and neck. “Ugh! Oh my god, aw, Connor! Keep fucking me, Connor! Please cum in me! Please cum in me! _Please!_ ” Theo begged, rocking up and down on the other chimera’s cock until he felt Connor begin to shoot. 

“Aw, fuck!” Connor groaned and flipped Theo onto his stomach unexpectedly, ramming his cock in and out of the stretched hole. He could feel Theo moaning appreciatively and clenching his ass tightly as he was pounded into the bed. “Ah, Theo! Fuck, yes!” Connor finally finished shooting and rolled off Theo, reaching up to touch him as the fury of his orgasm passed. “Uh, First Chimera, I’m sorry if I hurt you, I lost control-”

“No, you didn’t hurt me, it was perfect.” Theo grinned at him, running his tongue along his lips and sitting upright, his ass tingling as Connor’s cum filled him, trails of his and Stiles’ cream dribbling down his chest. He moved across the bed and kissed the Guardian Prime suddenly, their lips pressing together for a moment before Theo pulled away. “Uh, I better clean up.”

“Yeah.” Connor mumbled, looking at Stiles. 

“Come here.” The Emperor pulled off the duvet and kicked it to the floor. He patted the spot next to him in the center of the bed. “Lie down, we can clean up later. I wouldn’t be surprised if Theo was getting off one final time; reliving getting fucked by you!”

“Uh, I guess.” Connor flushed, suddenly feeling unsure of himself now that his arousal had faded. He laid down next to Stiles, resting his head on a pillow as the Alpha Chimera curled up on his left side, half lying on top of him, cheek pressed against Connor’s pecs. It was a position that they had been in before, though several centuries before, a different time. Connor blinked when the lights were dimmed, and Theo crawled into bed to join them, the First Chimera taking the space on Connor’s other side. He lifted his arms when Theo nudged him and placed them around Stiles and Theo’s shoulders, the chimeras sighing comfortably against him. The Guardian Prime struggled to keep his eyes open, to try and process what had just happened between them, but exhaustion overwhelmed him, and Connor was asleep seconds later.

 

Corey looked up as Connor approached him, the Guardian Prime leaving the Ancient chimeras at the main gate of the Imperial Palace and walking out into the plaza at the top of the Path of Legends. The younger chimera raised his hand in greeting, waiting for Connor to reach him. “Hey.”

“Good morning to you, Minister.”

“We’re alone, so go a little more informal, huh?” Corey smirked and clicked his tongue, summoning Growler from where the dog was peeing up against the foot of the massive statue of his own likeness. “The city is quiet.”

“It will start to fill up shortly.” Connor replied as they began to stroll across the square. The towering buildings on either side had lost their tops in the dense haze that filled the city, a scattering of blinking lights was all that could be seen of their heights in the early morning air. “The celebration is to take place all day, but I’ve arranged for the official ceremony to begin in the afternoon.”

“Speeches, declarations, tributes to the glory of the Empire, that sort of thing?” Corey asked with another smirk. “Will there be anything new?”

“If I told you that, what would be the surprise?” Connor grinned at him and nodded for them to turn towards the beach front. “The haze should have lifted by then, if not, the Emperor will no doubt wish to have clear skies and bright sunshine for the celebration.”

“Yeah.”

“I understand that you visited the Rhino’s Horn last night,” The Guardian Prime glanced at Corey and then away when the younger chimera flushed. “Though what might have happened in its hallowed halls are of no concern to me. The Guardian stationed there simply informs me whenever someone arrives; often they wish to see what has become of the greatest chimera creation facility in the Empire. But sometimes you get chimeras chasing legends and wondering if they too can stand in the place where the Emperor once returned life to a fallen enemy.”

“Really? People want to see the Nemeton?” Corey frowned. “You know, for all the different worlds we’ve discovered and explored, we’ve never seen evidence of anything supernatural on them. You’d expect that we would have, right? Even a culturally different variant of the Nemeton, or werewolves, or _something!_ ”

“We have travelled to handful of stars and systems in the Milky Way, there’s still a lot to see and discover, Corey.” Connor replied as they emerged onto the beach, golden sand being lapped at by gently rolling waves. “Once the ISE upgrade is pushed out across the Leviathan fleet, we’ll be able to send more expeditions farther and deeper into the galaxy, beyond our territory.”

“I know.” He grunted, glaring at the water. “And it’s not like we _haven’t_ discovered alien life; there’s plenty of new plants and minerals and animals on all the worlds. It’s all around us, but there’s no little green men, there’s no giant alien space squid that has lived for thousands of years and ready to dispense the wisdom of the ages!”

“And yet we’ve found no fossils, no signs of ancient civilisations, nothing at all to indicate that there was a space-faring race on or in any of the worlds that we have set up colonies on.” The Guardian Prime placed a comforting hand on his friend’s shoulder as they continued to walk along the beach. “It has occurred to me that perhaps this lack of other races is not because they have already come and gone, but that they have not come at all. What if the great Galactic Chimera Empire is the first?”

“First what?”

“First of everything!” Connor smiled as Corey shook his head and frowned. “We are the Elder race; all others are younger.”

“Hmm.” Corey chewed his lip and followed Connor as they turned off the beach, taking a shortcut through one of the brightly painted alleyways back onto the Path of Legends. After a few minutes of silent thought, Corey shrugged. “I suppose it doesn’t matter, I’m just curious about what’s out there in the universe, if anything is. The perk of immortality is that I guess we’ll see!”

“Yes, that is true.” Connor nodded, and they walked along in comfortable silence again, this time crossing the main thoroughfare and entering a market area, vendors setting up their stalls in advance of the tourists flooding the city. He smiled at the chimeras as they passed, trying to ignore the way they all stopped what they were doing to kneel before him in supplication. “Uh, the Emperor and First Chimera will be expecting you to join them in the gardens at ten, Corey, they’ll receive the daily briefing on Imperial affairs then. The Empire keeps on moving forward, even if today is dedicated to the remembering of the great deeds of the past.”

“Your people love you, Connor.” Corey whispered to him approvingly. “I mean, chimeras are normally pretty easy to please anyway, but ever since we arrived yesterday, both Nolan and Garrett have been saying that they’ve never felt such a deep and abiding contentment as they have on Earth.”

“The Emperor’s command was very clear: He said that the Home Systems were to be as a monument to the glory of the Empire, so that every chimera, no matter where they were born, would want to come and see Victory City for themselves. That they would want to remember and learn about the sacrifices and conflict that it took to forge an Empire among the stars.” Connor smiled faintly, nodding at the Unified City Guardsmen as they returned to the Palace grounds. “I may only control a handful of systems compared to the fifty that you and Theo both rule over, but I have always strived to make them the greatest in the galaxy!”

“I think I need to up my game, then.” Corey muttered. “Material production and farming are great, but only a few of my worlds are places people actually _want_ to go…”

“I can help you if you want?”

“Does that mean you’ll finally come out to Haros Prime?” He asked hopefully. “If nothing else, it’ll get the Exarchs off my back, Josh has been petitioning me for decades to get the Prophet of the Emperor to open his temple complex!”

“I’ll make a note of that.” Connor smiled, stopping on the steps of the Palace. He turned to the other chimera and patted his shoulder. “It was good to talk to you again, Corey-and Growler! So easy to let things slide when tomorrow is forever. I’ll see you at the celebration later.”

“Yeah, see you!”

 

Stiles smirked at Theo as they took their breakfast in one of the private areas of the perfectly maintained gardens. Not much had changed, Connor keeping everything the way it was for a thousand years, only adding one or two new plants when the off-world varieties were of sufficiently diverse color or beauty. He glanced around at the explosion of purple flowers near the entrance to the pool area, the alien blossoms floating back and forth as though they were caught in a breeze, the air around them utterly still instead. “So, are we going to talk about last night or do you just want to keep it inside a little longer?”

“Funny.” Theo rolled his eyes at him, but sighed happily. “Last night was everything I’d ever dreamt of, Stiles. It was perfect, you were both perfect. Though I kinda wish Connor was still there when we woke up this morning.”

“Wanted to see if he’d go one last time?”

“Something like that.” Theo shrugged and took a bite from his pastry. 

“Theo, I know Connor better than anyone else does, and last night was probably an exception,” Stiles said, tilting his chair back so he could look up at the ziggurat. “I wouldn’t get used to it or expect that he’d treat us any different in public. In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if you had to wait another thousand years for anything like that to happen again.”

“Err, yeah, sure, but it was worth it, Stiles!” Theo grinned. “And now that I know what the winning formula is-being nice to other people and improving lives of other chimeras-I can totally do that a lot more, and Connor will notice it!”

“Uh, that’s one way of looking at it.” Stiles stared at him. _Seriously? The promise of Connor’s cock is going to send him on a redemption arc. Yeah, right…_ “What about heretics, you still get them from time to time. Are you going to be nice to them too?”

“Of course not.” The First Chimera shook his head. “Standing tradition is to rip them apart and kill any who follow their false religion, no matter if they’re human, chimera, adult or child, they will all fall under the fury of my claws!”

“Ah, and should we encounter a hostile alien race?”

“Glorious war, Stiles!” Theo grinned savagely, his eyes flashing red before they faded into purple. “I’ve been pretty disappointed that we haven’t encountered anything even faintly humanoid to conquer. Not just to fight a proper enemy again, but to see if we could integrate their DNA into ours? We’ve had some success with the native life on other worlds, but the essence production facilities are still not at the highest level of purity.” 

“Well, good to know that you’re not changing too much, Theo.” Stiles leaned over and kissed him. “I can only have one chimera who is the best among us. Plus, I don’t think the owner of Battle-World: Werewolf should be too kind and generous, there needs to be a little blood and dirt on you.”

“Mmh, that was the one thing that could’ve made last night better.” Theo murmured. “Connor all bloodied up, a few smears on his nose, his cheeks, dripping…”

“Theo!” Stiles rapped the table hard to jolt the other chimera from a renewed fantasy. “Jerk off to him in your own time, there are other things we need to discuss before Corey arrives.”

“Mmh?”

“I found it at last; centuries of searching, of mapping out the constellations that hovered above those empty skies on The Maw’s homeworld.” Stiles smiled slowly as Theo sobered up and stared at him. “Yeah, I know where the Hellscape is, my long range explorers found it a week ago. They’re in orbit, attempting to reach out and contact the intelligence that resides within, but the system is extremely hazardous; asteroid belts, solar flares from a massive O-type star, and some seriously weird gravitational fluctuations.”

“You have got to be kidding me!” Theo growled. “Why were you even searching for that thing?! I thought you closed up the portal in the Palace and that was it! No more Hellscape, no more terrifying planet sized monsters to have a conflab with, no more intense and fucked-up rituals to bring back dead werewolves!”

“Calm down, Theo, I made a promise to The Maw that I would find it one day and release it from the planet that has held it prisoner for so long.” Stiles explained, hand hovering in the air as he decided between a donut and an éclair. “And besides, if we ever do run into another space-faring race, don’t you want to be the Empire holding the massive planet devouring superweapon? I have plans in motion to turn The Maw into a chimera, so we can control it and ensure that it only serves us. Hmm, I thought there was a vanilla slice here…”

“Stiles! Forget about the pastry!” Theo slapped his hand away from the plate. “You cannot seriously think this is a good idea?”

“The Leviathans are reaching the limits of their engineering, Theo.” The Emperor sighed and looked at him. “If Marric were still alive, you and he and Connor could find the solution, I’m sure, but we miss some critical link every time we try and make them bigger, resulting in costly failures. Not anymore; with The Maw under our control, we’ll finally be able to build longer, wider, _bigger_ Leviathans to go deeper into the galaxy.”

“So, that’s what you’ve been up to at the edge of the Empire.”

“Yes, and you’ll see it tomorrow, you and Corey and Connor.” Stiles nodded, spreading his hands graciously. “A new Leviathan construction facility built around the most perfect world we’ve ever found: abundant material resources, fertile soil, global temperate climate. I have named it ‘Connor’s World,’ and I think you can see why.”

“He’s not going to like that.” Theo muttered, slumping back in his chair. “Do you know that he doesn’t even sleep in the Imperial Palace? He uses the quarters assigned to him in the Cathedral of Unity, and I’ve been there; it’s about the size of your bathroom, Stiles. Humility is Connor’s middle name, you can’t dedicate a planet to him!”

“I’m the Chimera Emperor,” Stiles grinned cheekily. “I can do whatever I want!”

 

The extremes of extravagance of Chimera Imperialism were on display as Theo followed Stiles and Connor up the center of the overflowing plaza outside the Palace towards the raised dais in the center. Blaring horns and pounding drums filled the air around them, the voices of the Faithful raised as they chanted prayers and sang songs of the Empire’s glory. Streamers and confetti floated down in thick blooms from overhead flying chimeras, the dazzling purples and greens and reds dancing in the warm afternoon sun. There were tens of thousands more outside the main gate and Theo was deafened by the wall of sound as the procession wound its way around the platform to allow Stiles a moment to wave at his adoring people. He had been to many such celebrations and they had all been similar enough; solemn moments for the fallen, speeches by minor Imperial Archons and Exarchs, and feasts of great splendour and the indulgence of every desire. But it had been centuries since Theo was on Earth for Galactic Victory Day, unsurprisingly the ceremony so far had been filled with religiosity. 

The procession was led by Connor in his role as Prophet of the Emperor, braziers of incense burning along the way making Theo’s eyes water. Chimeras numbering in the hundreds followed them out of the Imperial Palace, each carrying a banner or flag of the Empire, while dozens more completed the pageant, offerings from each of the colony worlds held aloft on strong arms. As he took his seat next to Stiles’ throne, Theo looked at Connor, seeing a different chimera to the one he had kissed the night before. The Guardian Prime was standing upright, his noble countenance relaxed, blood-red cloak fluttering in the light breeze as camera drones drifted back and forth in front of the podium, broadcasting the event across the Empire in real time. The First Chimera glanced at Stiles and saw him nod in Connor’s direction. 

“A thousand years has passed since the Battle of Beacon Hills and the foundation of the glorious Galactic Chimera Empire!” Connor roared, his hands spreading wide as the crowd fell silent and gave him all of their attention. “And in that time, we have spread ourselves out across the stars, just as the God-Emperor promised He would do! We have established colonies on hundreds of worlds in dozens of systems. We have crafted the greatest civilisation that has ever existed in the history of Earth’s many mighty nations.”

Connor took a breath and smiled as the chimeras frowned in confusion. “Yes, they were humans, and yes, we have become more than they could ever hope to be. But we must never forget from whence we came and the sacrifices that were freely given to secure our Empire’s future. That is the true meaning of this day. We honor those who have died so that we may live forever, whether they did so on the battlefield or the labs of the Dread Doctors or among the stars themselves.” 

“But we all know the chimera’s creed; the words that bind us together and remind us that no chimera is above the will of our Emperor. When He calls on us to sacrifice everything, we will do so, because it is only through sacrifice that the Empire will achieve glory!” Connor roared out, gesturing dramatically. 

“It is only through the blood of our bodies and the effort of our hands that the War of Planetary Conquest was won! That the Nogitsunes and Kitsunes were thrown down from their position as false gods! That the Ghost Riders who dared to strike at the Emperor Himself were pushed back into oblivion! That the unending hunger of the dreaded Harvester was blunted and was itself devoured! We are chimeras! We are the rightful rulers of this galaxy! And we are the living manifestation of the Emperor’s will!” He threw his hands upwards as an explosion of purple fireworks arced into the early evening sky, exploding with booms and bangs loud enough to be heard over the resurgent chanting and singing. Connor stepped back from the lectern, panting slightly as he recovered his breath.

Theo arched a brow in his direction, but it appeared that the show wasn’t over yet as the gathered chimeras stood up straighter and began to chant the Imperial Anthem at the top of their lungs, the words crashing over the dais with a loud enough accompanying musical score to make Theo wince. _I had forgotten about that one…not exactly something you’d dance to, but it’s the song everyone knows, even if all they know is how intimidating it is._ He looked at Stiles, seeing the benevolent smirk lingering about his boyfriend’s features as he enjoyed the unabashed worship of the chimeras in front of him. 

The music rolled and swayed back and forth, building into another heavy crescendo as Stiles stood up from the throne, exchanging a nod with Connor as he approached the lectern. The surge of voices lifted the sound to the height of the ziggurat, drums still pounding a beat as they sang his glories louder. Theo settled back in his chair, running his eyes over Connor’s face as Stiles began to address his Empire. The speech was easy to zone out, Theo had heard many variations of it before; glory of the chimeras, unending Empire, new heights of power and wealth, devotion to the… _Yeah, yeah, pretty sure you could stand there and describe your ideal butt plug and they’d still cheer for you no matter what!_ The First Chimera glanced up as the skies darkened suddenly, shooting a look at Connor, but the Guardian Prime was just smiling slightly, as though he was expecting this.

“What the…” Stiles broke off his speech and turned around, frowning as he looked up at the sun. The ball of fire was no longer a brilliant white circle of heat in the sky, but as they watched, it turned slowly purple, the star becoming the same shade as Stiles’ eyes. “Connor?”

“Behold, master!” The Guardian Prime gestured at the screens set up around the square to broadcast the speeches as they flickered to show different colony worlds, the cameras pointed upwards and similar suns turning purple. “On this day of celebration of victory and the Empire’s founding, I offer to You the fulfilment of a dream that the very stars themselves will burn with purple fire! As it was said, so shall it be done!”

 

Stiles breathed in the scent of contentment as he walked towards the window at the front of the command deck on the _Seat of the Emperor._ He could feel the mobile space station pulling away from Earth at a seemingly slow speed, even as they passed Mars a minute later. Connor, Corey, and Theo were gathered around the window, looking out at the stars, several of them still glowing purple. “It’ll take us a few hours to get back to Heart of the Empire and a little longer after that to get where we’re actually going.”

“And where’s that?” Corey asked, turning towards him, Growler sitting obediently at his side. “Nolan and Garrett are taking my Leviathan back home, so-”

“Relax, Corey, all will be revealed soon.” Stiles spoke across him as he climbed into the throne. The howl of the ISE prevented any further conversation as the station was catapulted forward suddenly, the stars becoming spears of bright light rushing by. “Actually though, I have been meaning to talk to you about that business on Chimera Prime...”

“C’mon,” Theo gestured for Connor to follow him as they left the command deck and walked along the gantry over the main drive core, its fiery heart winking at them until they entered the living quarters. The space station was a departure from other chimera vessels; shaped more like an inverted isosceles triangle than the traditional long, wide, space-whale form of the Leviathans. Theo pointed at a nearby chair and threw himself into the one opposite it. “So…”

“Yes, First Chimera?” The Guardian Prime sat down slowly. “What do you require?”

“Uh, huh, I think you know the answer to that based on what happened two nights ago!” Theo smirked at him, eyes twinkling. “But, um, as much as I want to spend the few hours of our journey doing _that,_ I figure we should just talk.”

“I don’t need to talk about what happened.”

“Good, I don’t want to either.” He cleared his throat and reached into his pocket, pulling out a flat, circular object. “This is the latest advertisement for Battle-World: Werewolf! I was wondering if you’d heard it?”

“I have.” Connor nodded slowly. “And I’ll admit that I’m curious about how exactly you’ve been able to create werewolves so lifelike that thousands of chimeras enter your system each week to experience war.”

“Oh, that’s because they’re biologically alive, just not, err, mentally.” Theo smiled and leaned back. “See, Dr Kadar and I have been working on this idea for a long time; we wanted to have werewolves that could fight and kill and behave like the real thing, but also not have to deal with any of those irritating real life needs like food and water and shelter. They just kinda ‘switch off’’ when we don’t need them.”

“You use the Purple Serum to keep them locked at a certain age and physical capability?”

“That’s right,” He nodded. “They are actually chimeras, just not constructed on any existing human or chimera child model. It’s more like they’re built and grown than created and born. There’s not a thought in their heads other than to follow the genetic programming that we built them with. In the same way that your body automatically breathes without thinking or even being self-aware, these werewolves form packs, engage in politics and trade, create battlegroups, and go to war.”

“So, there’s no truth to the rumors that it’s all robots?” Connor smirked at him. “I’ve seen the vids, they seem real in almost every way, allowing certain types of chimeras across the Empire to give in to their lust for blood and…other things.”

“Yeah, that’s right.” Theo shrugged when Connor just looked at him. “Well, be reasonable, do you ever worry that your fleshlight might get upset that you repeatedly shove your dick inside it?!”

“I don’t use-”

“Bad example.” He shook his head. “But the point stands, these aren’t living creatures as we would understand them, and they can fight back. They can kill a chimera just as easily as we can destroy them, this isn’t a park for the meek or the afraid, Connor, this is a place you go when you want to remember what battle felt like.”

“If you say so, First Chimera.” Connor replied softly. “I suppose I will have to join you out there to see it for myself.”

“I look forward to fighting by your side again, Guardian Prime.” Theo grinned warmly at him.

 

The Chimera Emperor stood with the other three at the edge of the open hanger bay doors, a thin, translucent liquid flowed across the entrance to keep the atmosphere inside and stop the vacuum of space just pulling them out. He smiled as they stared in silence at the vast construction yards being built around Connor’s World, the scaffolding for the Leviathans stretched from the planet’s surface thousands of miles into orbit and beyond. The bloom of igniting antimatter cores firing off across the space docks faded and brightened every few minutes as the tugs moved parts of the bio-ships into position. 

The space station drifted closer, granting the chimeras a better view of the new Leviathans being created, their white bones standing in stark contrast to the inkiness of the void. Theo was the first to speak, a quiet mumble instead of his usual self-assured tone. “These have to be at least twice the size of the facilities on the Moon!”

“Triple.” Stiles answered, spreading his arms wide. “This will be the center of Leviathan construction for the next thousand years as we move towards incorporating whatever we learn from The Maw.”

“The Maw.” Connor whispered, glancing at Stiles. “You found it?”

“Ugh, don’t tell me that, Stiles!” Corey groaned and buried his face in his hands. “That creature was terrifying!”

“It was useful,” Stiles corrected, placing his arms around both Corey and Connor’s shoulders. “And it will be useful again, we just have to channel it in the right directions. But that’s not the only reason I’ve brought you out here. Connor?”

“Command me, Emperor!” The Guardian Prime knelt quickly, his head bowed. 

“Stand,” Stiles let his eyes burn as he forced the chimera upright. Theo and Corey stood next to the Emperor in a mirror of the statues outside the Imperial Palace. “Good, this world was nameless, but it is perfect in every way. And with our recent experiences, Theo and I both agree that it is worthy of one name and one name only. This…is Connor’s World!”

“I…I am not worthy, master.”

“You’re the only one who is,” Theo grinned at him and pulled the surprised chimera into a hug, before quickly letting him go as Corey arched a brow at him. “Right, Stiles?”

“That’s right.” Stiles smiled at them all and turned to look out across the cosmos. “Our victory has been complete for almost a thousand years, my chimeras, but that does not mean our Empire must end. We will go from strength to strength until all know of the power of the Alpha Chimera!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the final chapter of _Building a Better Chimera_ and the story ostensibly ends here. However, since there was a thousand year gap between Chapters 14 and 15, I do have other spinoff stories planned to fill the void. These would look at minor characters like Liam and Philip setting up their colony, or Jackson travelling through the Empire in the years after Lydia and Alexander’s death, Corey, Garrett, and Nolan becoming an item, as well as one with Connor and Stiles in the early days of the Empire exploring other worlds and mysteries. 
> 
> I want to thank all my readers for staying with me during this story. I know that for many of you it was incredibly dark and disturbing in parts and that a scenario like this where the “villains” win, it can be difficult to keep going. But thank you for reading, commenting and leaving kudos. This has been one of the most enjoyable stories I’ve ever written, and I’ve had a lot of fun bringing the Chimera Empire to life from the ideas in my mind.

**Author's Note:**

> This is the fifth, and final part of _Building a Better Chimera._ Thank you for reading!

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [Legacy of the Past](https://archiveofourown.org/works/17965313) by [Uthizaar](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Uthizaar/pseuds/Uthizaar)




End file.
